At the Republican National Committee’s first-ever midterm convention in Dallas, President Trump urged Republicans to vote as though his name appears on the November ballot.
“I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot,” Trump told the crowd in his keynote address at the RNC midterm convention in Dallas.
Trump warned that Republican losses would cost Americans on multiple fronts, telling the audience, “If we lose, you’re going to lose your border, you’re going to lose your tax cuts.”
He continued, saying voters would also “lose your safety and security” and “lose your wealth” if Democrats reclaimed control of Congress in November.
The centerpiece of Trump’s address was a dramatic financial promise, pledging $5,000 to every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans hold both chambers of Congress.
“If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,” Trump told attendees.
Trump said the administration can disburse the proposed “Trump Dividends” “because we’ve done so well and because our country is making so much money,” though the legal basis for such payments remains unclear.
He added one condition to the proposal, stating, “The only caveat I have is that the dividend that we’re making must be spent in the United States of America.”
The president offered no detailed mechanism for how the payments would be authorized, a significant gap given that his Treasury Secretary previously noted, “We need legislation for that,” when a $2,000 tariff rebate check proposal surfaced.
During his push to cut government spending last year, Elon Musk had floated a “DOGE dividend” of $5,000, which Trump praised at the time but which never materialized.
With roughly 270 million adults in the U.S., the total cost of the proposed payout would reach into the trillions of dollars, raising immediate questions about funding and congressional authorization.
The two-day Dallas event, which attendees and organizers quickly dubbed “Trump-a-palooza,” featured posters of the president across the walls of American Airlines Center, alongside MAGA merchandise at the convention’s retail stop.
Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman emerged as a surprise participant, sending a video message promising to work with the president, a move that risks deepening his estrangement from fellow Democrats.
Other Democrats organized counterprogramming nearby, including a news conference Thursday hosted by at least four House Democrats in coordination with the Texas Democratic Party.
