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'Bribery', ‘Vote buying’: Trump's 5k check offer at RNC meet ahead of midterms sparks massive backlash
President Donald Trump has been accused of bribery and vote buying online after he offered a $5000 check to Americans if Republicans won the midterms.
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President Donald Trump has been accused of bribery and vote buying online after he offered $5000 dividend checks to American adults if Republicans won the midterms. Trump was speaking at the RNC convention at Dallas, Texas, when he made these remarks.
“I will give $5,000 to every adult if we win,” Trump said and the excerpt of his speech was shared widely online.
One page sharing the video wrote “Trump attempts to bribe people to vote for Republicans in the midterms.”
Trump's $5000 check promise sparks backlash
Several critics were quick to point out that Trump was offering money for votes essentially, ahead of the midterms. “Today Trump tried to buy the midterms by offering all voters a $5,000 bribe in exchange for their votes, provided they spend the cash in the U.S. Since the Fed will have to print the money, the result would be massive inflation, well in excess of anything experienced under Biden,” American stockbroker Peter Schiff noted.
Another remarked “lol. trump openly bribing people to vote for republicans. $5k per person if republicans hold the house and the senate?”. Yet another criticized the president, saying “That's $2 trillion of taxpayers' money in freebies - the Venezuela model. In a real democracy, this is vote-buying, and he would be banned from contesting.”
One person further explained "A sitting US president publicly promised tonight every adult a $5,000 "Trump dividend" if Republicans win full control of Congress, running directly into severe legal and structural barriers. The primary legal threat is 18 U.S.C. § 600, which criminalizes promising government benefits made possible by Congress as a reward for supporting a political party. Tying the money to GOP control fits § 600 far more closely than a standard tax-cut pledge. Vote-buying statutes like 18 U.S.C. § 597 and 52 U.S.C. § 10307(c) also apply."
“While defenders would argue this is a policy platform rather than a bribe, the explicit transaction creates real legal risk. Regardless of criminal law, the president lacks the constitutional authority to issue payments unilaterally. Under the Appropriations Clause and the Anti-Deficiency Act, spending over a trillion dollars requires explicit congressional funding and cannot occur by executive order. The Hatch Act largely exempts the president, though staff involvement would trigger criminal scrutiny. The statement conflicts with the spirit of federal vote-buying laws,” they added.
What to know about Trump dividend?
Trump said the $5,000 payment would be called the ‘Trump dividend’. “Now all we have to do is win,” he added. As per Bloomberg, this would cost the US government well in excess of $1 trillion.
Trump however, did not describe how the payments would be issued, or funded. Any cash payments would have to be approved by Congress. The announcement comes at a time when the significant US deficit is already weighing on borrowing costs. The money, Trump said, would need to be spent in the US, though the president didn’t go into details about how that would be enforced.
Deep Dive
Even Fox News questioned Vice President JD Vance about Trump's promise. “Trump's $5,000 dividend would cost $1.3 trillion. People are saying Trump is trying to bribe voters,” Bret Baier said and the video is now going viral online.
(This story is being updated)
