Trump pledges $5,000 to adult Americans if Republicans win midterm polls
On the opening day of the Republican midterm convention, Trump says he’s ‘doing a great job’ and defends his war with Iran
In a promise, perhaps the first made by an American president, Donald Trump, while addressing the opening night of the Republican midterm convention on Wednesday (September 9), said that every adult American will get $5,000 if his party retains control of both chambers of Congress following the midterm elections in November.
Cash dole promise
“If the Republicans win, you win with us, and you get $5,000. It will be called the Trump dividend,” Trump said while delivering the keynote speech on the first day of the convention.
Trump compared the cash dole with the cash distribution a successful company does to its shareholders.
“It will be called the Trump dividend,’ he said.
Also read: Why Trump’s ‘quick, decisive’ war with Iran may stretch into 2027
While the US president didn’t specify where the money would come from, reports say it could cost the exchequer a staggering $1 trillion and could be financially unviable.
Trump rubbishes negative ratings
In his speech, Trump gave considerable attention to claiming how successful his second stint as US president is, saying that he is “doing a great job.”
Despite failing ratings, he reiterated his claims that Republicans can beat opinion polls and retain both houses of Congress.
“I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot,” he said.
“I’m on the ballot, I’m on the ballot – just one more time,” he added.
According to Uspollingdata.com, Trump’s approval ratings are at a low of 38.1 per cent amid voter anger over high prices and the US’s war with Iran.
Slams Democrats
Trump, at the same time, spewed vitriol for Democrats, calling them extremists, anti-American and even evil.
“If we hand America's future to the radical-left Democrats, our nation will spend the next decade just getting back on its feet. It'll be a tragedy," Trump said. "Vote Republican and we will leave the world in our dust for generations to come.”
The convention – part rally, part fundraiser – comes as Republicans try to boost enthusiasm heading into the final stretch before Election Day, despite voters' economic concerns and dissatisfaction with the war in Iran.
Also read: Trump calls Iran conflict 'small potatoes', says he agrees with Vance that it's not 'war'
Many Republicans, including those facing tight races, are skipping the two-day affair in Dallas, while others hope their appearance will put them in the national spotlight as they work to turn out Trump's supporters in a year without him on the ballot.
Defends war with Iran
Despite rising discontent over the war with Iran, Trump seemed to defend it while admitting that it may have taken an economic toll on the US.
He said that the US needed to start the conflict because Iran was “two, maybe three weeks away from having a nuclear weapon.”
Also read: ‘No country should help Iran’: Rubio’s warning after Modi- Pezeshkian meeting
Stating that the Strait of Hormuz should be named after him, Trump claimed that food prices are going down and that oil prices will fall after the US wins the war with Iran.