Trump Promises $5,000 Payment to US Adults if GOP Wins Midterms

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump floated a dividend for American voters if his party wins the upcoming November midterm elections, promising a $5,000 payment to each US citizen adult if Republicans keep control of the House and Senate.

"It will be called the Trump dividend," the president said at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas. "Now all we have to do is win."

The gambit comes as warning signs flash for Republicans ahead of the midterms, which typically see the opposing party gain seats in Congress. Nonpartisan political analysts give Democrats the edge in the race for the House, with Senate control a toss up.

Trump didn't describe how the payments would be issued, or funded. Any cash payments would need to be approved by Congress at a time when the significant US deficit is already weighing on borrowing costs. The money, he said, would need to be spent in the US, though he didn't detail how that would be enforced.

The overall measure, as described by the president, would cost well in excess of $1 trillion.

(Updates with additional details throughout.)