this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2026
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Donald Trump pledged Wednesday to send every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, an extraordinary gambit to reverse his party’s sagging fortunes in November.

The dubious promise would likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval, and would further exacerbate the country’s nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit and concerns about inflation.

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[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 3 points 3 hours ago

Multiple problems with this.

For one thing, it's blatant corruption. Attempting to bribe the voters with taxpayer dollars? Using federal funds for partisan activity?

Aside from that, didn't he make promises like that last time, which he never delivered on? How stupid could his base really be? (please don't answer that. I know they're dumb as hell).

Lastly, if we look back to his last term when he used federal money to write checks to every american adult, the effect it had on inflation as well as the national debt was enormous.

So yeah, fuck this with a rusty spoon.

[–] StrutTower@discuss.online 17 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

Just making the offer of money for votes is a federal crime. You don't even have to actual do it. But of course no one in power has the balls to do anything.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 4 hours ago

Would end a Democratic administration (at any level of government, by the way, not just federal).

Yet Republicans can do whatever the fuck they want I guess.

[–] capt_wolf@lemmy.world 8 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Very illegal... By the way, anyone who accepts and receives that payment is also guilty.

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago

End Game: Every American who accepts bribe is locked up. I refuse and I am free to run around and do whatever I want.

[–] JustPlainDave@lemmy.zip 8 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

I feel like my odds would be better with the lottery.

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 8 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

Lottery ticket is 2 bucks. Trump is costing the average American several hundred a month at this point. Buying a ticket for yesterday's drawing is a better use of your money.

[–] minorkeys@sh.itjust.works 5 points 9 hours ago

But will it work? The only question that matters when no rules are enforced. Absent law, how the American people act will determine the fae of their nation.

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 10 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

Note that he never promised those dollars to be US dollars. Re-watch it if you don't believe me. It could be e.g. 5000 Guyanese Dollar. They even have a nice 5000 dollar note, which would buy you a McDonalds "meal".

[–] gigaqps@lemmy.world 5 points 7 hours ago

Finding some “well actually” loophole is a 2000s kind of lie. In today’s post truth society you just make false statements and ignore people who call you out on it

[–] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 5 points 8 hours ago

Doesn't matter, because he's lying.

[–] flop_leash_973@lemmy.world 19 points 14 hours ago

Fuck that, even if my vote could be bought I know how often he stiffs his independent contractors.

[–] MehBlah@lemmy.world 2 points 9 hours ago

I would take 250,000. Isn't that the buy in for a pardon? Except I would do what he does. I would double cross him.

[–] Wilco@lemmy.zip 31 points 16 hours ago

This asshat raised my taxes $8500 a year and wants to give me $5000 one time? Yea, sure. Sadly MAGAts will fall for it again.

[–] likebudda@reddthat.com 49 points 18 hours ago

Less than a year ago he promised $2k checks from his tariffs. MAGA has the attention span of a guppy.

[–] Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world 19 points 17 hours ago (3 children)

They bought his cheap made in China maga clothes

They bought his $500 dollar gold sneakers which turned out to be trash

They bought his expensive ecd knife which turned out to be gas-station-knife quality

They bought his crypto which turned out to be pump&dump and lost money

They bought gold phone which turned out to be plastic and 2 years out of date

They're buying the minted coin which they lose money on

Something tells me they'll still fall for this one thinking it will be the one that's genuine.

[–] ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one 4 points 9 hours ago

To be fair, a lot of Trumpty schemes are just ways to either grift or get bribes.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 7 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

They bought his $500 dollar gold sneakers which turned out to be trash

who does he think he is, Michael Johnson?

[–] betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world 4 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

I think you mean Mike Basketball.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (1 children)

You might be a little young for this reference

Michael Johnson was an Olympic sprinter known for wearing gold shoes. Shit I knew people, grown adults, who spray painted their runners gold after he won.

[–] betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Oh, okay, never really followed much of that stuff. Thank you for the link.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

no worries. i knew i was making an obscure reference but i didn't know how obscure.

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[–] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 59 points 20 hours ago (7 children)

Sorry, I'm apparently unfamiliar with how democracy works. You are allowed to pay people to vote for you?

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 3 points 9 hours ago

Short answer : no.

Long answer : legal doesn't really matter when Congress and the SC are in your pocket and refuse to hold you accountable for explicitly breaking the rules over and over again.

[–] InputZero@lemmy.world 2 points 9 hours ago

Yes, but it depends on how you do it. For the USA, if it were following its own laws, which it's not, Trump can not give every person $5000 if the Republican party holds a majority in the House and Senate. That's because following the laws the House would need to appropriate the funds first, pass that, send it through the Senate, have it pass there, then be signed by the president. In a normal America, the President can say they will pressure Congress to appropriate the funds and pass it but it can't be a unilateral decision.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 8 points 16 hours ago

Yep. This is how Doug Ford is Premiere of Ontario. He literally went into low income housing and gave out $20 bills.

[–] Sylvartas@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 points 20 hours ago (3 children)

I guess technically he's just running on a "give every American adult 5k" platform ? Of course I wouldn't put it past him to try to only give them to GOP voters

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 6 points 12 hours ago

he's already run on "give every american adult $2k" twice and it worked once

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[–] BigBenis@lemmy.world 20 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Like he was going to end the war on Ukraine in 24 hours and release the Epstein files?

[–] Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world 15 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Like Iran would take a week?

Like Mexico would be paying for that wall?

Like America would be great again?

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 6 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Still waiting for a replacement for the ACA, which was supposed to be so easy to do in the first week... Of his first term.

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

Not even Trump has enough child prostitutes to offer up to the wealthy stakeholders to make this happen.

[–] RabbitBBQ@lemmy.world -2 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

I'm all for it honestly, after $40 trillion in debt the least they can do is start giving everyone else some of it before the whole thing collapses

[–] wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz 1 points 3 hours ago

People would end up burning their banknotes for warmth, because it would be worthless at that point.

[–] DarkDarkHouse@lemmy.sdf.org 26 points 19 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Fredselfish@sh.itjust.works 12 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

And fucking liar, he will not send anyone a check period even if they did win. But fuck that vote folks are lives at stake here.

[–] cardboardboxfort@lemmy.world 14 points 18 hours ago

Still waiting for my DOGE and tariff rebate checks that he promised.

[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

I mean, Trump's entire life could be described as writing checks with his mouth that he can't actually cash.

He literally loves going bankrupt.

https://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/trump-king-of-debt-224642

“I’m the king of debt. I’m great with debt. Nobody knows debt better than me,” Trump told Norah O’Donnell in an interview that aired on “CBS This Morning.” “I’ve made a fortune by using debt, and if things don’t work out I renegotiate the debt. I mean, that’s a smart thing, not a stupid thing.”

“How do you renegotiate the debt?” O’Donnell followed up.

“You go back and you say, hey guess what, the economy crashed,” Trump replied. “I’m going to give you back half.”

Clinton blasted Trump’s economic views in a speech on Tuesday, accusing him of gambling with the full faith and credit of the United States by flirting with a default on the debt.

“That could cause an economic catastrophe, and it would break 225 years of ironclad trust that the American economy has with Americans and with the rest of the world,” Clinton said. “Alexander Hamilton would be rolling in his grave. You see, we pay our debts.”

I mean, rare Hillary W, but uh yeah, we've known for 10 years what his plan here was... it's been really obvious the whole time, actually.

Anytime a Republian mentions fiscal responsibilty, you have my permission to do debt collection for the tooth fairy, from their face.

[–] hoppeduponcoffee@lemmy.zip 35 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (5 children)

How’s the national debt and stagflation, Don?

Take your $5k and shove it up your ass. Tossing us crumbs to distract us from your total disaster of a presidency.

What an economic moron.

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[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 32 points 21 hours ago

Anyone get their Tariff refund?

Anyone get their DOGE check?

Any soldier’s families get their death benefit payout being killed in trump’s not-war against Iran?

How about the time he said “Food for everyone!” at a Miami restaruant, then walked out without paying the bill?

Once trump gets what he wants he doesn’t pay shit.

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