Trump’s $5,000 handout is an insult to conservatism

President Trump gathered his hardcore MAGA faithful in Dallas last week at the Republican National Convention to officially energize his base to vote in the upcoming midterm election. In reality, the gathering was about paying homage again and again to Trump’s outsized ego.

The lesson from Dallas is that if calling the other guy a “communist” is the best you can do, you have a serious problem. That applies especially if your own administration is implicitly adopting a leading tenet of socialism — government ownership of the means of production — by taking a federal government stake in 30 private sector companies.

Another nod to socialism came during Trump’s closing remarks on the second night of the convention, when he promised a $5,000 “dividend” to every adult citizen if the Republicans keep control of both the House and the Senate. Sounds to me like using federal tax dollars to buy votes.

Someone in the White House needs to realize as soon as possible that the Republicans’ 2026 electoral problem is not a lack of government handouts.

As Trump pushes the federal government into seemingly every aspect of American life, some of us long for the keystone of conservative philosophy as President Ronald Reagan enunciated : “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”

The Wall Street Journal’s Kimberly Strassel recently spelled out the Republicans’ midterm turnout problem with research showing a lack of enthusiasm by Republicans who do not consider themselves part of Trump’s MAGA movement. That makes perfect sense when you understand that Trump’s entire second term has been all about governing for his own diehards.

Trump’s insistence on making this election about himself and a referendum on his second term is exactly the wrong strategy. His approval rating in a consortium of respected polls is 40 percent because he has spent the last 20 months catering to MAGA and MAGA only. In the process, he has driven away thoughtful voters who want the government to deal with significant problems like grocery prices while working competently on issues that need attention without using egocentric ultimatums and overkill.

Let’s be clear. The MAGA base alone will not win an election for anyone, including Trump and Vice President JD Vance. It is precisely what it is called: a base, meaning it must be built from. Elections are won by addition and inclusion. Trump’s understanding of how to build from that base is apparently nonexistent.

Perhaps Trump could get away with his $5,000 offer because his largesse with other people’s money included all adults. Fellow conservatives who may first find the idea interesting should consider this:

Will you be happy when the guy passing out Democratic Socialist of America flyers down the street gets his $5,000 check? Will you be happy when every single person working in the congressional office of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) each gets their $5,000? And will you be absolutely thrilled when you discover that the performers in the local drag queen show spent the afternoon discussing what outfits to spend their $5,000 in taxpayer money on?

As per usual with Trump, his pronouncement lacks specificity. Would the giveaway be means-tested or even perhaps tested by length of citizenship?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a true conservative, rightly dismissed the proposal, saying it “will lead to more debt and more inflation.” Conservative Republican Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said: “Some of us think dependency is evil and soul sucking in all its forms.”

Then there is the fiscal aspect. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget called the president’s political gimmick “fiscally dangerous, economically backwards, and fundamentally unserious.” It estimates the cost at $1.2 trillion dollars . We have not yet heard from Trump’s Office of Management and Budget on the proposal, but one wonders if they knew anything about it in advance.

Trump’s second term presidency has operated on the governing principle that if it comes into his head, it comes out of his mouth. At the same time, it seems that Trump’s gut has lost touch with hard-working American families. That is a problem for which there is no cure before Nov. 3.

Kevin Igoe is the former deputy chief of staff of the Republican National Committee and former executive director of the Maryland Republican Party. He served as chief of staff of the Maryland Department of Budget and Management and was a Reagan White House appointee.