Donald Trump Gives Update on $5,000 Dividend Promise - Newsweek

President Donald Trump on Monday renewed his promise of a $5,000 payment to adult U.S. citizens, saying the proposal could move forward if Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress in November's midterm elections.

Speaking during a steel plant announcement in the Oval Office, Trump said that his administration's economic policies would generate the revenue needed to fund the payments, contrasting them with what he described as Democratic policies that would hurt government finances.

"Because of tariffs, we are taking in hundreds of billions of dollars of profits," he said. "It's one of the reasons I can offer, if Republicans win the House and the Senate, $5,000 to every adult. And we can do it and the Democrats can't, because the Democrats don't have any income, and they're gonna drive us in[to] a depression. They won't have any money."

The proposal, which Trump has promoted as a potential "dividend" for Americans, would require congressional approval and has become a talking point as Republicans seek to maintain their House and Senate majorities.

Trump announced the payments during the Republican National Midterm Convention this month, saying that citizens would get the payout due to the country's economic success.

"If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them," the president told attendees. "I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000."

What the president dubbed the “Trump Dividend” would carry an estimated cost of more than $1 trillion for the government, even excluding the administrative expenses involved.

How the checks would be delivered, and when, remains unclear, and voters appeared largely unenthusiastic about the idea in a recent poll. Some voters said it made them less likely to vote Republican, rather than driving them toward GOP candidates.

During his second term, Trump or those in his administration promised Americans a handful of checks, including $5,000 rebates from Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts under Elon Musk, $2,000 from tariffs and $1,000 from expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.

During the briefing on Monday, Trump blamed the higher cost of groceries and gas on Democrats, saying it's because the party had not previously dealt with Iran.

"They like to say 'affordability,' but they are the ones that caused the affordability problem," Trump said. "They're the ones that caused all of these problems. They were unwilling to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon."

In a statement to Newsweek on Monday, Democratic National Committee Deputy Communications Director Kendall Witmer accused the administration of making "empty promises" to Americans.

"The only people reaping the benefits of Trump’s economy are himself, his family, and his ultra-rich elite donors," Witmer said. "Meanwhile, working families get nothing except sky-high receipts at the grocery store and the pump, unaffordable healthcare premiums, and wages that aren’t keeping up with inflation.”

In a recent analysis of everyday items, using Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Newsweek found that Trump and his predecessor, President Joe Biden, saw prices rise markedly during their time in office, including beef and coffee under Trump. Egg prices—a key issue during the 2024 election—have fallen more than 50 percent since his return to the White House in January 2025.

The president has stuck to his message that Democrats are to blame for high prices, despite Biden having left office more than 18 months ago and growing concern among voters about rising costs, particularly gas.

"Gas prices were much higher under Biden than under ‘TRUMP,’" the president wrote in a late-night post to his platform Truth Social September 20. "So were almost all other prices."

He also told reporters on Monday that they were "twice as wealthy" as they were under Biden, saying: "Your 401k is double, in a short period of time."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, responded on X on Monday afternoon: "He says this with a straight face as gas reaches $4.50/gal, diesel reaches $6.50/gal, mortgage rates soar over 7%, grocery costs are rising, and Americans’ sentiments towards the economy are the lowest they’ve been since the Great Recession."

Trump was asked specifically about gas prices with the midterms just five weeks away, and whether prices would fall by then.

"I don't know," Trump responded, before promising that inflation would drop off as soon as the war with Iran ends.

As of Monday afternoon, the AAA national average for gasoline was at $4.48 per gallon, up from $3.13 a year ago. Diesel was at $6.45, up from $3.69 in September 2025.

California continues to be one of the states with the highest prices, with gas at around $6.37, while Indiana drivers are paying around $3.88.

"As soon as that war ends, inflation is going to be eradicated, totally," Trump said.

As for the $5,000 checks, it remains to be seen if Congress would approve the funding necessary to enable the payouts.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Dave Siminoff.