$5,000 pledge would cost more than $1 trillion, the Journal has reported
President Trump on Saturday reiterated his pledge to send $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans win the midterm elections, warning in an Oval Office video that a Democratic victory would bring “an economic depression, much like 1929.” The video, posted Saturday morning, marked the latest in a series of financial promises Trump has made in the lead-up to the midterm elections.
“If the Democrats win, you will have an economic depression, much like 1929. If the Republicans win you will each have $5,000 in your pocket,” Trump said in the video.
The $5,000 pledge, first announced during the Republican midterm convention in September, would likely cost well over $1 trillion if delivered to each of the roughly 270 million Americans ages 18 and above, most of them citizens, The Wall Street Journal has reported. The pledge is expected to face hurdles in Congress and risks sparking inflation, the Journal has also reported.
The reiteration came as a Wall Street Journal poll found 37% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing, the lowest approval rating of any president headed into a midterm in Journal polling dating to 1990. Republicans are facing headwinds as they head into the midterm elections, the Journal reported.
Other administration voter benefits have rolled out in recent weeks. The Trump administration has started to send $500 checks to nearly one million people, saying the payments would go to people who paid what it called excessive fees under the Affordable Care Act. Trump has also recently touted a $1,776 “warrior dividend” check for active-service duty members, a reference to the year the American colonies declared independence from Great Britain.
On Friday night, Trump also announced plans to send $90 to more than 20 million seniors to help pay for their Medicare Part B premiums. In a Truth Social post Friday night, Trump said the payments would go to “over 20 MILLION wonderful Seniors to help pay for their Medicare Part B premiums.” A fact sheet released Saturday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said the payments would come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, a pool of money Congress created to help pay for improvements to Medicare, a federal health insurance program for people aged 65 or older and younger people with disabilities. Most eligible beneficiaries will receive the money on or around Oct. 8, 2026, as a direct deposit, the fact sheet said.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, called the latest announcement “another desperate attempt by a failed president to escape Americans’ revulsion with his failed agenda, amounting to one tank of Trump-inflated gas.”