Photograph illustrating the concept of broken promises with cracked cement Credit: iStock / eric1513

Is America a republic or a mid-level marketing scheme?

Some days it’s hard to tell, especially when President Trump talks about the midterms while repeatedly floating the idea that voting for the GOP is a shot at quick cash.

According to CNBC, on Friday Trump announced “one-time $90 payments to 20.8 million Medicare beneficiaries.” He touted this alongside an unrelated, one-time $500 payment that’s currently being distributed to people who purchased unsubsidized healthcare through the Affordable Care Act. 

But these are chump change compared to what the president has been promising since July.

“If Republicans win the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 2026 Midterm Elections, I’m going to give all Adult Citizens in the United States of America, $5,000,” Trump said Saturday in a post on Truth Social.

This is his latest cash offer ahead of the Midterms, and the second time since this summer’s GOP Midterm convention that he’s repeated his promise that if the Republican Party holds on to Congress, he’ll make it rain $5,000 checks for every adult citizen. 

This, of course, ignores a few things. 

Like how, no matter who’s in power, this would need congressional approval and would cost taxpayers $1.2 trillion. Or how he’s promised thousands of dollars to Americans before and delivered nothing.

Oh, and it’s a bribe.

It’s still illegal to offer people money for votes (although some quibble Trump’s promises may qualify as a “broad campaign promise” and are thus protected). But the executive branch Trump sits atop enforces the law. That means, it’s unlikely anyone will point this out to the president’s face, let alone dole out any repercussions. 

Still, before voters start counting their would-be cash, it’s important to remember—Trump has failed to deliver on past promises of money for Americans in the past. And those pandemic-era stimulus checks that swayed a few Black and Latino voters in 2024 were actually created and voted for by Congressional Democrats. 

Trump simply took credit—slapping his signature on the checks—despite his doing of nothing.

As for this new money, his so-called Obamacare “refund” checks of $500 were already going to about 950,000 “full-price HealthCare.gov customers,” although Reuters found that 71 percent of that cash “is going to residents of 13 states with some of the country’s most competitive Senate and gubernatorial races, though eligibility is based on insurance status, not voting status.”

Those strategically distributed checks total about $339 million, while the $90 Medicare payments will start rolling out this month to eligible Medicare Part B enrollees, funded by the Medicare Improvement Fund, total around $252 million.

According to Rasmussen Reports, voters are split on the $5,000 bribe. Only 15% said it could affect how they vote. Meanwhile, a poll in Wisconsin by the Marquette Law School found 70 percent of respondents were against the measure.

Even starker, an Economist/YouGov survey in Wisconsin said 57 percent of registered voters thought Trump was unlikely to deliver on the money.

Wonder why?

Well, he’s tried (and failed) to show voters the money before.

For example: the promised DOGE dividend check paid no dividends. Trump floated them in February 2025, and they never happened.

Then there was the $2,000 reciprocal tariff-funded dividend payment. The Supreme Court put the kibosh on the tariffs in February, and no cash was ever distributed.

Even before the 2020 election, Trump said 33 million Medicare recipients would get $200 prescription drug cards. Those never materialized.

Forget Trump always chickening out. Trump can’t even cash out his constituents. 

Not that this should even be a topic of discussion because, again, it’s illegal to offer cash bribes for votes. So don’t fall for the ol’ okie doke.

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