Trump Dividend - Free Money?

The Donald is at it again ...  

Trump Dividend - Free Money

He's blatantly offering, what's appears to be in all but name a bribe, to get US citizens to vote Republican in the mid terms. 

He called it the "Trump Dividend" and stated that each and every adult citizen would be given $5,000 if the Republicans win the mid-terms. This would amount to at least $1.3 trillion in additional funding to be added to the ballooning National Debt, and how it would be funded was not explained.

Now there were caveats: 

1. The money has to be spent in the USA (although how the could be guaranteed wasn't made clear).
2. Its only for "citizens" so presumably proof of citizenship would be required.
3. The Republicans have to control of Congress i.e. the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them. 

The reason why point 3 is important is that a President can't authorise handing out over a trillion dollars without Congressional approval. Under the Appropriations Clause and the Anti-Deficiency Act, any spending of over a trillion dollars requires explicit congressional funding, and cannot occur by executive order. Therefore the money couldn't be disbursed without control of Congress.

There are of course some sort of US laws to stop bribery in elections, but as Gerrymandering is all but allowed in the USA these days, these laws could possibly be got around. The primary legal threat is 18 U.S.C. § 600, which criminalises promising government benefits made possible by Congress as a reward for supporting a political party. By tying the money to voting Republican and them winning control of Congress means that breaching § 600 is possibly being flirted with far more closely than any standard tax-cut pledge.

There are also Vote-buying statutes like 18 U.S.C. § 597 and 52 U.S.C. § 10307(c) which could also possibly apply. However Trump has shown a willingness to ignore Congress, or challenge it via the Supreme Court, so its not certain that a "Dividend" wouldn't end up being classed as a tax cut of some sort, and so not illegal 

Of course, releasing $1.3tn into the US economy could prompt a massive spending spree with serious consequences ... especially if it was because the Federal Reserve had to just print money. Most likely, inflation would rise significantly, possibly to levels above those seen during the Biden government.  

However what's possibly more important, is how Trump's offer is perceived in both the USA and the rest of the world. If its widely seen as nothing more than a bribe, then US democracy just falls another notch towards failing. However it may equally simply be seen as just another case of Trumps loose lip promises, with no real chance of becoming real.  

It should be noted that earlier in his second term, he also suggested that every household would get $5,000 if, and it was a big if, Elon Musk could save $2 trillion in government waste and cost, as part of DOGE. Of course that department later closed down, but with (only) $110 billion in savings/cuts ... so no $5,000 sent out. 

Late in 2025 Trump also promised that a tariff dividend cheque “of at least $2,000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone,” without clarifying who would be eligible ... no such payment was ever made, as the tariff revenue would only cover a fraction of the costs of the tariff dividend. 

Still, the behaviour of Trump, to explicitly offer money to voters to vote Republican is a new low for US democracy.