Democrats accuse Trump of 'bribing' Americans with $5k dividend

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(The Center Square) – Democrats are condemning President Donald Trump after he pledged to offer $5,000 to every “eligible” American adult after the midterm elections if Republicans maintain control of Congress.

“Trump’s presidency is so failed and broken, he is resorting to trying to bribe the American people for their votes,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., posted on social media Thursday. “An insult to Americans, to democracy, and an admission of how absolutely screwed he is.”

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., called the proposal “a stunt,” adding that “tax dollars aren't a campaign slush fund and bribing Americans for their vote is illegal.”

Trump’s announcement, made Wednesday night at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, comes as polling shows that inflation and price increases remain voters’ top concerns heading into the midterm elections.

The Center Square’s August Voters’ Voice Poll also found that 58% of voters disapprove of how Trump is handling the economy, with prices rising 3.4% over the 12 months ending in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

Energy and gasoline prices have also soared since the Trump administration launched its military campaign in Iran. Over the past 12 months ending in July, the cost of energy rose 14.7% and the cost of gasoline jumped 24.6%, as The Center Square reported.

“Trump hiked costs with a reckless war and tariffs. Then, he promised multiple ‘stimulus’ checks with the money he stole from Americans. They never came. Now, he’s trying to bribe voters again in a desperate attempt to cling to power,” House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., stated Thursday. “The American people are not falling for it.”

Several Republicans, however, embraced the idea, which the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates would cost nearly $1.3 trillion.

“I will get a bill ready so that we can get the Trump Dividend passed immediately after the November 3rd election … because Republicans (and America) will win!,” Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, posted on social media.

Though recent polling shows that congressional Republicans’ chances of staying in power look shaky, party leadership has projected confidence.

“We're confident American voters are going to remember that when they had to vote this Fall,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters last week. “When they have the facts, they will make the right decision.”