10.9.2026
US President Donald Trump said he would pay every adult in the country $5,000 if the Republican Party wins the November 2026 congressional elections.
Trump delivered the extraordinary overture during a convection primetime speech that lasted nearly two hours in Dallas, Texas, September 9, and firmly placed him at the center of the midterm campaign at a time when his sagging approval ratings could weigh on Republicans’ chances.
It was not immediately clear how the $5,000 payments would work or whether they would be legal. The proposal would likely cost more than $1 trillion, with approximately 270 million U.S. adults, and could require the approval of Congress.
The convention’s focus on Trump – some Republicans have dubbed it “Trumpapalooza” – amounts to a risky bet that he can mobilize the voters who carried him to the presidency two years ago, despite opinion polls showing his popularity is at an all-time low.
But it remains to be seen whether his campaign-style speech will appeal to the critical swing voters who have drifted away from Trump’s party amid growing dissatisfaction with the cost of living and the war on Iran.
“I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot,” Trump said, a line that may have pleased Democratic campaign strategists just as much as MAGA voters.
Some vulnerable Republicans in tough races, perhaps mindful of tying themselves too closely to the unpopular Trump, elected to skip the affair, including Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Senator Susan Collins of Maine.
While Republican officials had described the convention as an opportunity to tout Trump’s policies, most speakers focused on attacking Democrats as extreme on topics such as transgender women in sports and border security – political red meat for core Trump supporters.
The stakes are high for both parties. With the elections less than two months away, Republicans face the prospect of losing control of at least one chamber of Congress, with public polling showing Democrats more motivated to vote and Trump’s approval ratings deeply underwater. Reuters report