Trump’s $5,000 dividend: Who could receive the payment, how much the plan could cost, where the money may come from and what happens next

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would pay every American adult a $5,000 US "Trump dividend" if Republicans retain control of Congress in November's midterm elections. “If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000," Trump said during the GOP's midterm convention in Dallas. "It will be called the Trump Dividend.”

After the announcement was made, questions began doing the rounds regarding Trump dividend as Trump did not provide a detailed funding or implementation plan, and a payment program of this scale would require congressional action.

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Who will receive Trump’s proposed $5,000 dividend?

Trump said the proposed dividend would go to adult US citizens. He has not released detailed eligibility requirements.

Donald Trump did not offer details on how the payments, which he called as “Trump Dividends” — would work, including whether he plans to ask Congress to authorize the checks. He has floated the idea of cutting checks to US citizens in the past, including $2,000 dividends funded by tariffs.

How would the program work?

No $5,000 payment program has been enacted, and significant details remain unresolved.

• Republicans would first have to retain control of both the House and Senate under the condition Trump announced.
• Congress would have to authorize federal spending for a program of this scale.
• Eligibility requirements beyond Trump’s reference to adult U.S. citizens have not been detailed.
• Trump has not provided a detailed funding mechanism for the payments.

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Trump's $5,000 dividend's whopping cost

The dubious promise to give $5,000 to every American adult would likely cost more than $1 trillion and would further exacerbate the country’s nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit and concerns about inflation, reports news agency AP.

Trump likened the payments to a corporation's distributions to shareholders, citing “our tremendous strength and success economically."

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Where would the money come from?

Within an hour of Trump's announcement, Vice President JD Vance appeared to try to walk back Trump’s proposal — at least in part by suggesting the dividend payments would not go to the wealthy. Vance suggested it could be paid for by US tariff revenues, though the suggested payment dwarfs what the US has taken in through the protectionist measures. The national debt last month topped $40 trillion for the first time.

Trump boasted of completing "the greatest two years in the history of the presidency," putting himself squarely at the centre of the election despite his deepening unpopularity.

Congress would have to approve the payment or otherwise agree to it. The amount would be far greater than U.S. tariff revenues, even before the Supreme Court struck down much of the president’s tariff programme last year.

Marc Goldwein, the senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a think tank in Washington, said Trump has no authority to send money to Americans without approval from Congress.

Many Republicans skipped the convention

The convention posed a difficult choice for Republicans facing competitive elections. Some lawmakers may need to distance themselves from President Donald Trump to appeal to a broader pool of voters, while also avoiding a backlash from his most loyal supporters.

Several Republicans chose to skip the convention, including Rep. Tom Barrett of Michigan, Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. All three are facing strong Democratic challengers this fall.

Others, however, decided to attend the event in Dallas. According to the RNC schedule, at least 16 candidates in competitive House and Senate races were set to speak at the convention.

Among Wednesday’s speakers were Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a close Trump ally who is running in a closely watched Senate race against Democratic state lawmaker James Talarico, and Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, who is facing former Sen. Sherrod Brown.