MSNBC calls Trump's $5,000 checks 'bogus'; the Washington Examiner says 'many Republicans' back them

What was promised. At the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, President Trump promised $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans keep both the House and the Senate, the Washington Examiner reports.

Four outlets, four words for the plan.

Who is named. Critics: - Collins says it "would be extraordinarily costly", in both the Washington Examiner and The Hill. - Gov. Ron DeSantis says "more debt and more inflation", in The Hill.

Backers: - Ken Paxton, the Republican Senate nominee in Texas, according to The Hill. - Vice President JD Vance: "I don't think it's a controversial idea", according to MSNBC. - Texas Democrat Gina Hinojosa, who backs the payment but not the election condition, according to the Washington Examiner.

The cost. Only the Washington Examiner gives a figure. It puts the cost at an estimated $1.3 trillion and sets that against $167 billion in tariff revenue so far. Trump says tariffs will pay for it.

What is not settled - How many Republicans back it. No report counts them. - What it costs. Only one outlet gives a figure, and it names no source. - Whether it has an income cap. Collins says "few details" exist. - We hold only the opening lines of The Hill's three reports, and one-line summaries from MSNBC and The Nation.

What this is about. President Trump has offered every American adult $5,000 — but only if his party holds on to Congress at the elections in November.

How it got here. US midterm elections fall halfway through a presidential term. Every seat in the House of Representatives and roughly a third of the Senate are contested, and the president's party historically loses ground. Trump, a Republican, began his second term in January 2025; Republicans hold both chambers, and it is those two majorities the promise is tied to. He made the offer on the opening night of the party's first midterm convention, in Dallas, in a speech the Washington Examiner says was scheduled for 45 minutes and ran almost two hours. We reported earlier from that convention on the gap between Trump's claim that it was "totally sold out" and the spare seats the Washington Examiner described.

Where the money would come from. Since returning to office Trump has imposed tariffs on imported goods, and the duties are paid into the Treasury. He says that revenue will fund the payments. The Washington Examiner puts the cost of the plan at an estimated $1.3 trillion — about half of what the federal government collected in income taxes in fiscal 2025, by its account — against $167 billion in tariff revenue so far.

Why it is not simply a presidential decision. Under the Constitution, money is spent only as Congress appropriates it. A president can propose a payment; legislators have to pass it. That puts the question to the same Republicans being asked to campaign on it, including the senators who write the spending bills.

What is at stake. Control of both chambers, and with it the rest of Trump's term. Also the precedent: Washington Examiner contributor Jed Babbin lists Roosevelt's $580 to World War I veterans in 1936, George McGovern's promised $1,000 per family in 1972 and the Covid-era payments under Biden, and writes that none saved their party.

Where it stands. No bill, no named sponsor, no income cap. The Washington Examiner reports the idea "merited barely a mention" on the convention's closing night.