Fox News host Laura Ingraham pressed President Donald Trump over his newly announced $5,000 “Trump Dividend,” questioning why the administration would wait until after the midterm elections to distribute the proposed payments.
Trump unveiled the plan Wednesday during the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, promising $5,000 payments to adult US citizens if Republicans retain control of both the House and Senate in November.
“If Republicans win both the House and the Senate, because of our tremendous economic success, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States for $5,000,” Trump said during the convention.
Trump said the money would have to be spent inside the US but initially provided few details about how the approximately trillion-dollar program would be funded or implemented.
Ingraham confronted Trump about that timeline during an interview airing Thursday on “The Ingraham Angle.”
“Why not just give the money?” Ingraham asked.
“If you have the money, why not give it now?” she added.
Trump responded by tying the payments to continued Republican control of Congress.
“Because the Democrats can’t do it,” Trump said. “Because for them, it’s negative growth. With us, it’s so positive.”
The president then pointed to tariffs and broader investment commitments as evidence that his administration had generated enough economic activity to support the proposal.
“So, we’re taking in $21 trillion. No country has ever taken in anywhere near that,” Trump said. “It’s four or five times higher than the next one. All because of the beautiful word you and I love more than most others: tariffs.”
Trump’s $21 trillion figure is substantially larger than actual federal tariff collections. The federal government collected about $264 billion in tariff revenue during the previous fiscal year, while the White House has separately cited trillions of dollars in announced investment commitments.
Trump has indicated tariff revenue would play a role in financing the dividend, although major questions remain about whether that revenue would be sufficient.
The proposal could cost roughly $1.2 trillion to $1.3 trillion if $5,000 were distributed broadly among adult US citizens.
Vice President JD Vance has suggested that wealthier Americans could ultimately be excluded, potentially reducing the final cost.
Congressional authorization also remains an unresolved issue.
Trump told CBS Texas on Thursday that he did not believe congressional approval would necessarily be required, while other analyses have concluded that such a large federal disbursement would likely need lawmakers to authorize the spending, per the Daily Mail.
The proposal has also drawn criticism from some Republicans.
Palantir co-founder and GOP donor Joe Lonsdale said he supports Republican victories in the midterms but opposed what he called “bread and circus bribes.”
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) told Politico the plan would cost “a massive amount” and said he would prefer eligibility restrictions.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), a frequent Trump critic, joked that he was “insulted by the notion” that his November vote could be purchased for $5,000 before adding that he would not accept “a penny less than 10k.”
Trump has floated other direct-payment proposals during his second term, including a $2,000 tariff dividend and an earlier $5,000 “DOGE dividend,” neither of which has resulted in nationwide payments.
His latest proposal remains contingent on Republicans keeping both chambers of Congress after November’s midterm elections, with details surrounding funding, eligibility and congressional authorization still unsettled.
