In a Guardian opinion piece, columnist Steven Greenhouse condemns Donald Trump's pledge, made at last Wednesday's Republican midterm convention, to give $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans hold the House and Senate in November. Greenhouse argues the offer is a blatant vote-buying bribe, made as Trump's approval ratings sink amid backlash over the Iran conflict and persistent inflation, and warns it assumes voters are easily bought off with borrowed money.

The scheme would cost an estimated $1.2tn across roughly 240 million adults, more than the Pentagon's budget and close to annual Medicare spending, and would add to an already enormous $40tn federal debt. Even some Republicans and Trump donors criticised the plan, including donor Joe Lonsdale and Congressman Bob Good, while former ally Marjorie Taylor Greene mocked it by recalling Trump's earlier unfulfilled promises of tariff "dividends" and Doge savings payouts. Greenhouse notes Trump billed the payments as a "Trump dividend" from economic success, though he argues the economy has shown little genuine improvement beyond a booming stock market and datacentre investment, with inflation still higher than under Biden.