DeSantis knocks Trump’s $5K dividend payment pledge: ‘More debt and more inflation’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Thursday criticized President Trump’s controversial proposal to pay out $5,000 checks to every U.S. adult if Republicans win the midterms.

“What I would say is, if you are getting surplus revenue, you should cut people’s tax and return it to the people,” DeSantis said during a press conference in Miami on Thursday.

“What I don’t think you want to do is borrow another trillion-and-a-half dollars and then just try to flood that into the economy, because that will lead to more inflation,” DeSantis continued. “That will lead to more debt and more inflation.”

The governor noted the rising national debt and criticized Congress for not doing more to reach a balanced budget.

“The way it works now in Congress, their incentives are to add debt for short-term political benefit,” DeSantis said. “They never have to make tough decisions.”

The GOP governor, who challenged Trump for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential race, has had a tumultuous relationship with the president during his second term, splitting with him on key issues like artificial intelligence regulation.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

The president proposed the $5,000 “ Trump dividends ” during a speech at the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday.

The two-day event aimed to drum up excitement among Republican Party voters ahead of the November elections, in which the party is fighting to maintain control over both legislative chambers.

“Here is my promise: If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them … 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,” Trump said during his Wednesday remarks.

The White House did not provide details about how this plan would work, including the potential source of the money, when reached for comment by The Hill’s broadcast partner, NewsNation.

“President Trump has consistently proven his doubters wrong, drawing a clear contrast with the Democrats’ record of historic inflation, unfettered illegal immigration, skyrocketing crime, and weakness on the world stage,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told NewsNation in a statement. “With the continued support of the American people, President Trump will keep delivering real results.”