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Trump's $5,000 Dividend Would Cost Far More than Tariffs Raise
Trump said the plan would cost nearly $1.2 trillion, while Vice President JD Vance suggested higher-income Americans may be excluded.
On Wednesday in Dallas, President Donald Trump pledged $5,000 payments to every adult citizen if Republicans retain control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in November.
Trump compared the proposed payments to corporate dividends, citing "our tremendous strength and success economically," while noting he previously distributed a $1,776 "warrior dividend" to military members last year.
Providing $5,000 to all adult citizens would cost more than $1.2 trillion, exceeding the Pentagon's entire $961 billion budget request for 2026 and representing more than 17% of the $7 trillion the federal government spent in 2025.
Vice President JD Vance suggested funding the payments using U.S. tariff revenue, though the Treasury Department expects to collect only about $406 billion in customs duties during fiscal year 2026, covering just a third of the estimated cost.
Congress must formally approve any federal spending, and Marc Goldwein, senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, criticized the fiscal claim, stating "We don't have surpluses to give away.
(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Hong Jeong-gyu = U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 10th (local time) that if the Republican Party wins the November midterm elections, adult American citizens...