WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has pledged to give every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the 2026 midterm elections, a proposal that would likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval.
The proposal could add to the country’s nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit and fuel concerns about inflation.
Trump also said Wednesday that oil prices, which have risen amid the war in Iran, likely will not fall until after the US midterm elections.
The remarks marked an acknowledgment from Trump that the conflict has contributed to pressure on his administration to address rising gas prices as the war continues without a clear end.
Joe Lonsdale, a prominent Republican donor and activist, criticized Trump’s proposal to send money directly to Americans.
“I am hugely in favor of winning the midterms, and love much about this (administration),” Lonsdale wrote on X. “But am strongly against bread and circus bribes.”
Democrats also have traveled to Dallas for the Republican midterm convention as they seek to persuade voters that Trump’s second presidency differs from the spectacle surrounding his political events.
