Trump floats $5,000 checks ‘if the Republicans win.’ Is that a bribe?
What’s the difference between a campaign promise and a bribe? Experts explain the possible legal issues around the latest idea for a “Trump Dividend.”
Only days after promising a $5,000 dividend to every American if Republicans kept control of Congress following November’s midterm elections, President Donald Trump doubled down on his pledge, saying the checks would “happen 100 percent.”
Trump, who made the comments to reporters outside Air Force One on Sunday, Sept. 13, has received deep criticism from both sides of the aisle, who question how the president’s $5,000 dividend checks would be paid for.
“The $5,000 is going to happen 100 percent,” Trump said. “And the reason is because our country is taking in trillions and trillions of dollars. And it’s going to happen.”
When asked why he wouldn’t send the dividends now, while the GOP controls Congress, Trump said he would wait until after the upcoming midterm elections.
“I don’t want to do it now, because if the Democrats get it, our country will be in shambles and they won’t be able to do it,” he told reporters on Sunday. “If we get in, we’re taking in tremendous amounts of money.”
Here’s more on Trump’s $5,000 dividend pledge.
What did Trump pledge?
During the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas on Sept. 9, Trump promised: “If the Republicans win, you win with us, and you get $5,000. It will be called the ‘Trump dividend.'”
Trump added that the $5,000 dividend, which must be spent in the United States, is feasible because of the “tremendous strength and success” of the American economy. However, he did not say how it would be paid for or how much it would cost.
In a White House news release shared the following day, the Trump administration suggested that the dividend is possible thanks to “unleashed trillions in new private investment” and reductions in government waste.
Not the first time Trump has promised Americans dividends
Trump’s most recent pledge to give every American $5,000 is only the latest payment the president has promised.
In December 2025, all military personnel got $1,776 “Warrior Dividend” bonuses. Although Trump said the payments would come from tariff revenue, the funds came from military housing funds Congress appropriated in the president’s sprawling “One Big Beautiful Bill” law.
Aside from the “Warrior Dividend” bonuses, Trump also promised two other payments to Americans, which were never actually paid out.
In 2025, Trump discussed a plan to give $2,000 dividend checks to some Americans using tariff revenue. But while Trump previously said the checks would go out in mid-2026, the payments haven’t happened.
Earlier in the year, Trump also floated the idea of $5,000 dividend checks for Americans thanks to savings created by the once Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. However, those dividends never arrived, and DOGE officially shut down this year.
USA TODAY’s Mike Snider and Melina Khan contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.