Other US politicians in the past have also promised economic rewards in return for electoral success.
For instance, Democrats in Georgia promised $2,000 relief payments if their party took control of the Senate at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the US, Congress authorises spending. The midterm elections, which will be contested on 3 November, will ultimately decide whether or not Trump’s Republican Party keeps its hold over both the House and Senate.
During his speech in Dallas, the president did not say whether he planned to ask Congress for such approval for the payments – which he dubbed “Trump Dividends”.
However, in addition to the overall cost to the US treasury, the latest proposal from the US president may raise legal questions.
Federal laws prohibit payments that are intended to influence voting.
The issue came to the fore ahead of the 2024 presidential election, during which billionaire Trump supporter Elon Musk offered cash incentives to registered voters in seven swing states who signed a certain petition.
However, some experts say the promise made by Trump during Wednesday’s speech may be seen as a pledge to cut taxes, which is legal.
John Day, a lawyer in New Mexico, said the plan would indeed be legal. It constituted a promise made to all adult citizens of the US during a campaign, rather than a “payment to individuals to try to get them to vote in a particular way”, he told the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, an election law expert who spoke to the New York Times said Trump’s promise would also be covered by the free-speech protection guaranteed under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
