Trump brushes off question about handing out cash before election

President Trump dismissed a question Wednesday about his administration sending money to Americans ahead of the midterms, choosing instead to tout his tariffs.

“What we’re doing is we have tremendous growth. We have the greatest growth of any country, maybe ever in history,” the president said in the Oval Office , when the Independent’s Andrew Feinberg asked whether he was sending money to Americans “in hopes they vote for” Republicans.

“We’re able to do this that the Democrats can’t, because they would’ve not … been able to use tariffs so wisely like we did,” Trump added.

Trump last month pledged to send $5,000 to every American adult if the GOP retains control of Congress in the midterms.

“Because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,” he said at the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas.

The president also said last week his administration will send $90 to more than 20 million seniors to offset Medicare Part B premium costs.

That came after the administration began mailing $500 refund checks to about 1 million Americans who it says were overcharged for their Affordable Care Act insurance.

While multiple Republican lawmakers came out against the $5,000 dividend proposal, the president doubled down later in the month, saying the $5,000 dividends will “100 percent” happen .

Republicans hold slim majorities in the Senate and House. But Decision Desk HQ , The Hill’s data partner, gives Democrats a 54 percent chance to flip both chambers in November.

If the federal government sent $5,000 to each of the roughly 270 million U.S. adults, it would cost more than $1 trillion.

Republican politicians who opposed the proposal , including Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and outgoing Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), cited the ballooning national debt for why the country cannot afford it.

The national debt exceeded $40 trillion for the first time in August and sits at more than $40.2 trillion as of Monday.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told NBC News last month the administration will not fund the dividends using taxpayer dollars .

Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, told Bloomberg TV in September that Congress can authorize the checks via reconciliation, which would allow Republicans to bypass Democrats.