Trump’s pledge for $5K checks catches officials and allies off guard, sparks GOP blowback

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President Donald Trump blindsided many of his own administration officials and allies with his vow to pay all American adults $5,000 if Republicans keep control of Congress, prompting an internal scramble on Thursday to backfill the proposal’s specifics, two people familiar with the matter told CNN.

Trump made the pledge during his speech at the GOP’s midterm convention after discussing it with only a small circle of close political advisers, including Jason Miller and James Blair, a Trump political adviser told CNN. That left most officials across the administration unprepared to manage the fallout of a $1 trillion proposal that has already faced widespread blowback over its price tag and feasibility.

Several Republican lawmakers immediately panned the idea as a misguided ploy ahead of November’s midterm elections that would be nearly impossible to pass through Congress — not to mention one that would violate many of the party’s core economic principles. Even on the convention floor, some attendees were skeptical.

“I’m not into free stuff,” Arlington small business owner Wilma May told CNN in Dallas. “I would prefer him to give $5,000 towards paying down the deficit.”

The vow also alarmed GOP economists and some close Trump allies, some of whom dismissed it as a poor attempt to effectively bribe voters to keep Republicans in power.

“It’s a mystery that everybody’s trying to get to the bottom of, whose idea this was,” said Stephen Moore, an outside economic adviser to Trump, who opposes the idea. “The problem with sending people checks is it actually has a negative economic consequence.”

Trump offered few details about the proposal during his speech on Wednesday night, suggesting only that it might draw on revenue collected as a result of tariffs on foreign goods. Trump has previously floated a series of other “dividends” for all Americans funded by tariff revenue or other savings, but has yet to deliver on them.

On Thursday, White House officials spent the morning racing to sort out the logistics required to make good on this latest unprecedented promise, one official said.

But a subsequent fact sheet released by the White House indicated that those efforts remained a work in progress; it provided no details on how the government envisioned funding the payments or where the money would come from.

“The same leadership that shattered the old limits of what Washington thought possible is now prepared to put $5,000 directly into Americans’ pockets,” the White House said, without providing specifics.

A White House official disputed the notion that Trump had caught his aides off guard, telling CNN that he had “discussed this idea with his senior staff in the lead up to the speech. There was no surprise.”

In a statement, White House spokesman Davis Ingle did not directly address the prospect of paying all American adults $5,000 if Republicans keep the House and Senate.

“The doomers and naysayers have consistently doubted President Trump,” he said. “With the continued support of the American people, President Trump will keep delivering real results.”

Trump’s surprise pledge comes as he struggles to combat rising voter frustration over the cost of living and his economic policies. For months, polling has shown Americans deeply dissatisfied with the president’s handling of inflation.

The ongoing war with Iran has only worsened the broader economic environment facing Republicans, sending gas and diesel prices soaring once again in recent weeks, with no clear end in sight. As the GOP gathered in Dallas this week, both the global and US benchmark prices for oil rose above the $100-per-barrel mark, and diesel hit a record $5.98 a gallon, on average, on Thursday.

Trump has repeatedly downplayed the affordability concerns, dismissing the term on Wednesday night as an issue ginned up by Democrats to damage him politically and insisting that that US is in the midst of a “the most successful two years financially and every other way.”

Yet in a tacit acknowledgment that economic woes are weighing on the GOP, the administration in recent weeks has increasingly sought to highlight steps aimed at lowering some everyday costs, like the price of ground beef and certain medicines.

Trump, who signed off on sending Americans two rounds of $1,200 stimulus checks during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, has repeatedly returned to the idea of sending cash directly to voters as a way to win political support.

Last year, he floated the prospect of $5,000 “DOGE dividends” tied to the supposed savings created by his slashing of the federal workforce. More recently, Trump vowed to send out $2,000 checks funded by tariff revenue. Neither have happened.

Trump’s latest proposal faces even longer odds — a reality that prompted many skeptics, including some Trump allies, to dismiss the idea as a purely political maneuver.

“For the record, I am hugely in favor of winning the midterms, and love much about this admin, but am strongly against bread and circus bribes,” Joe Lonsdale, a GOP donor close to Donald Trump Jr., wrote Wednesday night on X. Lonsdale co-hosted a major fundraiser on the sidelines of the convention Wednesday night with Trump Jr. and other high-profile Republicans, sources familiar with the event said.

Congressional Republicans would need to write and pass legislation authorizing the more than $1 trillion in payments – a sum that would equal more than half of the amount the government spent on all discretionary spending in the 2025 fiscal year, according to the Congressional Budget Office. And while some lawmakers immediately backed the idea — Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio pledged to have a bill ready by November — the proposal surprised GOP leadership, who had not had any prior discussions about it, a person familiar with the matter said.

In a Fox News interview airing Thursday, Trump seemed to acknowledge that Congress would need to approve the proposal, blaming Democrats for standing in the way of his ability to follow through on the pledge sooner. But he then contradicted himself, saying in a CBS interview that while Republicans “will do it if we needed it,” he believed he could deliver the payments without congressional action.

The idea also hinges on the president’s party keeping control of the House and Senate — a midterm outcome that would defy polling trends and decades of political precedent.

“The danger he has is that the way it was rolled out, it will sound like a gimmick,” said former House GOP Speaker Newt Gingrich, who added that he’s previously talked to Trump about distributing money generated by tariffs, but was surprised Wednesday night’s announcement.

There are also myriad economic concerns that likely make such a proposal unlikely to become anything more than a political talking point. Trump’s proposal would blow a $1.2 trillion hole in the federal budget, which is already contending with a swiftly-rising debt level , according to at least two estimates.

Tariffs wouldn’t come close to covering the tab. New tariffs in 2027 would only raise enough revenue to pay for about one-tenth of the cost, according to the Tax Foundation, a right-leaning think tank.

“A deficit-financed dividend payment of this scale would signal to markets that the US is not serious about getting its fiscal house in order,” Erica York, a senior economist at the foundation, said in a statement. “It would risk further rises in interest rates, add to inflationary pressures, and worsen the very problems that are trying to be ‘solved’ by the proposal.”

Another federal budget watchdog group called the idea “fiscally dangerous, economically backwards , and fundamentally unserious.”

“This half-baked political scheme would make this all worse – exploding the deficit, ginning up inflation, and further driving up the cost of borrowing throughout the economy,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a statement.

Trump’s proposal comes as the United States is digging itself into an ever-deeper debt hole. The federal debt hit a record $40 trillion in mid-August, an inauspicious milestone that will have consequences for Americans, businesses and the government for years to come.

Even without the dividend checks, the federal government is forecast to run a budget deficit of nearly $1.9 trillion in fiscal year 2027, which starts October 1.

“It’s not an economic growth proposal,” said Moore, adding even if Republicans had the money to spend, it’d be better invested elsewhere. “With that amount of money you could cut the payroll tax by one or two percentage points, you could cut income tax by two to three points. That would actually provide an economic incentive.”

CNN’s Steve Contorno contributed to this report.

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据 CNN 报道，两位知情人士透露，唐纳德·特朗普总统突然承诺，如果共和党继续控制国会，将向所有美国成年人支付 5000 美元，这让许多政府官员和盟友措手不及，导致周四内部紧急制定该提案的具体细节。

据一位特朗普的政治顾问向CNN透露，特朗普在共和党中期选举大会上发表讲话时，仅与包括杰森·米勒和詹姆斯·布莱尔在内的一小群亲信政治顾问讨论过此事。这使得政府大多数官员措手不及，难以应对这项1万亿美元提案可能带来的后果。该提案因其高昂的成本和可行性而遭到广泛批评。

几位共和党议员立即抨击这一想法，认为这是在11月中期选举前夕采取的不明智策略，几乎不可能在国会获得通过——更不用说它还会违背该党的许多核心经济原则。即使在大会现场，一些与会者也对此表示怀疑。

“我不喜欢免费的东西，”阿灵顿的小企业主威尔玛·梅在达拉斯接受CNN采访时说。“我更希望他捐出5000美元来偿还赤字。”

这一誓言也令共和党经济学家和一些特朗普的亲密盟友感到震惊，他们中的一些人认为这是试图贿赂选民以维持共和党政权的拙劣尝试。

“这真是个谜，大家都在试图弄清到底是谁想出来的，”特朗普的外部经济顾问斯蒂芬·摩尔说道，他反对这个想法。“给民众发放支票的问题在于，它实际上会产生负面的经济后果。”

特朗普在周三晚的演讲中并未就该提案提供太多细节，仅暗示其资金可能来自对外国商品征收的关税收入。此前，特朗普曾提出一系列其他旨在惠及全体美国人的“红利”，资金来源包括关税收入或其他节省的开支，但至今尚未兑现。

一位官员表示，周四上午，白宫官员们争分夺秒地安排后勤工作，以兑现这一史无前例的最新承诺。

但白宫随后发布的一份情况说明书表明，这些努力仍在进行中；它没有提供政府设想如何为这些款项提供资金或资金来源的任何细节。

白宫表示：“正是这支打破华盛顿旧有界限的领导层，现在准备将 5000 美元直接发放给美国民众。”但并未提供具体细节。

一位白宫官员驳斥了特朗普令助手们措手不及的说法，他告诉CNN，特朗普“在演讲前就与高级幕僚讨论过这个想法。这并不令人意外。”

白宫发言人戴维斯·英格尔在一份声明中没有直接回应如果共和党保住众议院和参议院的控制权，是否应该向所有美国成年人发放 5000 美元的前景。

他说：“悲观主义者和反对者一直质疑特朗普总统。但有了美国人民的持续支持，特朗普总统将继续取得实实在在的成果。”

特朗普出人意料地做出这一承诺，正值他努力应对选民对生活成本和经济政策日益增长的不满之际。几个月来，民调显示，美国民众对总统应对通货膨胀的方式深感不满。

与伊朗的持续战争加剧了共和党面临的整体经济困境，导致近几周汽油和柴油价格再次飙升，且看不到尽头。本周共和党在达拉斯举行大会之际，全球和美国原油基准价格均突破每桶100美元大关，柴油价格周四平均达到每加仑5.98美元的历史新高。

特朗普一再淡化民众对负担能力的担忧，周三晚上他驳斥了这一说法，称这是民主党人为了在政治上损害他而捏造出来的，并坚称美国正处于“财政和其他各方面最成功的两年”。

然而，共和党也默认经济困境给他们带来了压力，因此，近几周来，政府越来越重视采取措施降低一些日常开支，例如降低碎牛肉和某些药品的价格。

特朗普在 2020 年新冠疫情期间批准向美国民众发放两轮 1200 美元的刺激支票，他一再提出直接向选民发放现金以赢得政治支持的想法。

去年，他曾提出将发放5000美元的“狗狗币分红”，声称这笔钱与他大幅削减联邦政府雇员所节省的开支挂钩。最近，特朗普又承诺将发放2000美元的支票，资金来自关税收入。但这两项承诺都未兑现。

特朗普的最新提议面临着更大的成功几率——这一现实促使许多怀疑论者，包括一些特朗普的盟友，认为这个想法纯粹是政治伎俩。

“郑重声明，我非常支持赢得中期选举，也很喜欢本届政府的很多方面，但我强烈反对用面包和马戏团式的贿赂来拉拢选民，”与小唐纳德·特朗普关系密切的共和党捐款人乔·朗斯代尔周三晚在X网站上写道。据知情人士透露，朗斯代尔周三晚与小特朗普和其他一些知名共和党人共同主持了一场在大会期间举行的大型筹款活动。

国会共和党人需要起草并通过立法，授权支付超过1万亿美元的款项——根据国会预算办公室的数据，这笔款项相当于政府2025财年所有可自由支配支出总额的一半以上。一位知情人士透露，虽然一些议员立即表示支持——俄亥俄州参议员伯尼·莫雷诺承诺将在11月前准备好相关法案——但这一提议令共和党领导层感到意外，他们此前并未就此进行过任何讨论。

在周四播出的福克斯新闻采访中，特朗普似乎承认国会需要批准这项提议，并指责民主党人阻挠他尽快兑现承诺。但随后他又自相矛盾，在接受哥伦比亚广播公司采访时表示，虽然共和党人“如果需要会批准”，但他相信无需国会采取行动也能发放这些款项。

这一想法还取决于总统所在的政党能否继续控制众议院和参议院——中期选举结果将违背民调趋势和数十年的政治先例。

“他面临的危险在于，这种推出方式会让人觉得这只是个噱头，”前众议院共和党议长纽特·金里奇说道。他还补充说，他之前曾与特朗普讨论过如何分配关税收入，但周三晚上的声明让他感到惊讶。

此外，诸多经济方面的担忧也可能使这项提议最终沦为政治谈资。据至少两项估计，特朗普的提议将在联邦预算中造成1.2万亿美元的缺口，而联邦预算目前已面临债务水平迅速攀升的困境。

关税收入远远不足以支付这笔费用。据右倾智库税务基金会称，2027年新增关税所筹集的收入仅够支付大约十分之一的费用。

“如此大规模的赤字融资分红会向市场发出信号，表明美国并没有认真整顿财政状况，”该基金会高级经济学家埃里卡·约克在一份声明中表示。“这将导致利率进一步上升，加剧通胀压力，并使该提案试图‘解决’的问题更加恶化。”

另一个联邦预算监督组织称这一想法“在财政上是危险的，在经济上是倒退的，而且从根本上来说是不严肃的”。

“这种不成熟的政治方案只会让情况变得更糟——赤字激增，通货膨胀加剧，并进一步推高整个经济的借贷成本，”负责任联邦预算委员会主席玛雅·麦吉尼斯在一份声明中表示。

特朗普提出这项提议之际，美国正深陷债务泥潭。8月中旬，联邦债务达到创纪录的40万亿美元，这是一个不祥的里程碑，将在未来数年对美国民众、企业和政府产生深远影响。

即使没有股息收入，预计联邦政府在 2027 财年（从 10 月 1 日开始）的预算赤字也将接近 1.9 万亿美元。

“这不是一项促进经济增长的提案，”摩尔说道，并补充说，即使共和党人有钱花，也应该把钱投资在其他地方。“有了这笔钱，你可以把工资税降低一到两个百分点，把所得税降低两到三个百分点。这才能真正起到刺激经济的作用。”

CNN的史蒂夫·康托诺对本报道亦有贡献。