President Donald Trump’s promise to give Americans a $5,000 dividend check if Republicans retain control of Congress after the 2026 elections is not resonating with even his most loyal voters across the country.
Trump first made the promise back in September during the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas. The proposal, which could cost roughly $1.3 trillion, drew immediate scrutiny from fiscal hawks over the prospect of a massive round of direct federal payments.
Now, it appears even Republican voters are skeptical of the proposal as well, based on conversations the Washington Examiner had with voters at campaign events in different states.
Texas resident Eric Ziehe, 63, told the Washington Examiner that in his mind, Trump’s proposal was “vote-buying.”
“Where does that money come from?” Ziehe posed. “I don’t know where the $5,000 that Trump promised is going to come from. And either way, it’s vote-buying.”
Trump has suggested the checks would come from profits made as part of his tariffs agenda; however, overall customs duties, which include the Trump tariffs, only brought in $173 billion through all of fiscal 2026, according to the Treasury Department.
Martha Dodd-Slippy, a 77-year-old rancher and real estate broker from Emporia, Virginia, said she doesn’t want Trump to send out dividend checks because she doesn’t want “freebies.”
“They’ve been enough freebies, especially to the illegal immigrants,” Dodd-Slippy said. “They got free housing, free EBT cards, free cellphones, free this, free that. Nobody should get anything free.”
Meanwhile, Derek White, a 63-year-old Cincinnati, Ohio, resident working in sales, told the Washington Examiner he doesn’t think the checks will be sent out at all.
“I think sometimes Trump gets himself in trouble with his own bombast, but that’s how he rolls,” White said.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement that “doomers and naysayers have consistently doubted President Trump,” citing the creation of the Trump Accounts, lowering of prescription prices, securing the border, crime reduction under his administration, no tax on tips policy, negotiations of tariffs, and efforts to restore manufacturing.
“President Trump has consistently proven his doubters wrong, drawing a clear contrast with the Democrats’ record of historic inflation, unfettered illegal immigration, skyrocketing crime, and weakness on the world stage,” Ingle said. “With the continued support of the American people, President Trump will keep delivering real results.”
An NBC News/Decision Desk poll released earlier this month found the majority of respondents similarly did not think they would receive the dividend checks, with 42% of respondents saying they “definitely” will not receive the money, and 29% saying they “probably” will not get it.
Only 14% of respondents expressed optimism about receiving the $5,000 dividend.
Since entering office for his second term, Trump has repeatedly promised to send American households dividends, including refund checks based on cuts made to the federal government by the Department of Government Efficiency and the White House’s anti-fraud task force. Neither of those check promises has been fulfilled.
Trump also promised to send $90 Medicare checks to 20 million eligible seniors nationwide earlier this month as he looks to shore up a reliable voting bloc ahead of Election Day.
The one-time $90 checks were set to go out in early October. The funding will come out of the Medicare Improvement Fund.
With only a little over a week until Election Day, Republicans have little time remaining to make their economic pitch stick with voters if they want to retain the GOP trifecta in Washington.
It follows Trump’s previous announcement that nearly 1 million Americans will receive $500 refund checks for being overcharged through Obamacare.
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Bev Moore, a 74-year-old retiree from Liberty Township, Ohio, said she hopes the $5,000 checks come to fruition.
“I would love some money,” Moore said. “I mean, but again, I don’t count my chickens before they have hatched.”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
