Trump’s gift to the people slammed – "known liar"
Promises of cash handouts are a recurring theme, yet they are rarely fulfilled.
US President Donald Trump’s latest proposal—a $5,000 payout to the public—is facing criticism and rejection.
The condition is an election victory for Trump’s Republicans in the November midterm elections and continued control of Congress. In that event, all adult Americans would receive $5,000 (equivalent to approximately 48,000 kronor), Trump promised in a speech at the Republican convention in Dallas.
Trump, with his business background, likened the move to a profitable company issuing dividends to its shareholders.
The announcement comes with less than two months remaining until the election and with the Republicans—and the president himself—facing headwinds in public opinion polls. It is also a potentially high-stakes gamble at a time of persistent inflation, rising interest rates, and skyrocketing fuel prices.
"It will never happen"
At the same time, Trump has a history of making similar promises. Last year, payouts of both $2,000 and $5,000 were promised, funded by revenue from tariffs and government spending cuts. However, those promises never materialized.
"Donald Trump is a known liar. He is the biggest liar who has ever held power. Period," said Democratic Congressman Robert Garcia, according to the news agency AP.
"The payout will never happen."
Republican Senator Bernie Moreno, however, welcomes the idea and intends to draft legislation for the payouts. Other politicians accuse the president of trying to buy votes.
"Frankly, I am offended by the idea that my vote in November could be bought," writes Republican Thomas Massie—who has frequently clashed with Trump—on social media.
Democrat Ted Lieu jokes that "a $10,000 payout, a pony, and free ice cream for life" await if the Democrats take power.
Risk of inflation
The proposal would cost more than $1.3 trillion—nearly 12.6 trillion kronor—if Congress approved payments to the country's approximately 270 million adults, the AP reports.
The Treasury Department already runs an annual deficit of nearly $1.8 trillion, and the total national debt surpassed $40 trillion earlier this year.
Michael Strain, a leading economist at the think tank American Enterprise Institute, likens it to a more extreme version of the stimulus package—providing $1,400 per American—launched by President Joe Biden during the COVID-19 pandemic. The risks of inflation are significant, he tells the AP:
"Trump would be pouring gasoline on glowing embers of inflation and hoping it wouldn't catch fire."
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