President Donald Trump’s promise to send Americans $5,000 checks if Republicans keep control of Congress is falling on deaf ears with much of the public, with new polling showing skepticism extending into his own party.
This month, at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Trump said every adult U.S. citizen would get a $5,000 “dividend” if the GOP keeps both the House and the Senate in November, raising concerns about voter-buying. However, a poll carried out by Strength In Numbers and Verasight from September 16 to 21 showed that only 13 percent of adults believed the president intends to send the money. Sixty-two per cent of the people interviewed thought the promise was mainly a ploy to get votes.
The survey showed that 71 percent of adults thought it was inappropriate for a president to make a financial promise on the premise that his party won the election, including 53 percent of Republicans. About a quarter of respondents believed the checks would be issued if Republicans won.
Support for the payment varied considerably depending on how the proposal was presented. When respondents were asked about payments of $5,000 without Trump’s name mentioned or any condition attached to the election, 53 percent backed the idea and 35 percent opposed it. But when it was stated that the money would only be sent if the Republicans won, support dropped to 35 percent, while 54 percent opposed it.
Salon columnist Amanda Marcotte referred to the findings in her latest report, saying Trump’s most recent attempt to win over voters with his record is meeting increasing skepticism, even among those who previously supported him. She writes, “The president has perhaps the most staggering track record of defrauding Americans of any hustler in the country’s 250-year history,” citing his 34 felony fraud convictions and civil fraud cases.
The article cites the Bulwark’s report on Trump’s long list of cash-incentive promises he failed to keep, including the $5,000 DOGE dividend, the $2,000 stimulus checks tariff rebate, and the $500 Obamacare rebate checks.
Trump has kept up his praise of the economy. At a press conference on Monday, he stated that the United States had “the best economy we’ve ever had” and told the reporters that their 401(k) accounts had doubled.
“You’re twice as wealthy as you were a short time ago, every one of you,” Trump said. “And that’s because of me.”
His government has publicly defended the TV ads funded by taxpayers which promote Trump and his policies. On Monday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota criticized the expenditure, stating that “it shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer money.”
The $5,000 promise now offers another indication of whether Trump’s argument is influencing voters ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms. The polling suggests the payment itself is more popular than the election condition he attached to it.