Donald Trump Has Jumped the Shark
September 10, 2026 11:27pm
President Trump just promised voters he would give every adult citizen a $5000 check if the Republicans maintain control of the House and Senate after the midterm elections. Such blatant vote-buying promises are a disgusting form of bribery that abuses the already depleted U.S. Treasury.
On principle alone, it is a terrible idea. But care to know the math? The U.S. Census Bureau says there are 343 million people living in the United States, of which 89.7% are adults. That's 307.6 million adults. Excluding non-citizens would reduce that total by about 9%. So giving each adult citizen $5000 would cost $1.39 trillion!
Although Trump claims the Treasury has plenty of money as a result of his tariffs and DOGE cuts, it doesn't. Our national debt now exceeds $40 trillion. At current treasury rates, each $1 trillion borrowed would cost about $48.5 billion in annual interest. Such reckless spending would also exacerbate the terrible inflation caused by all the government money irresponsibly given away under the guise of COVID relief.
Under federal law (18 U.S. Code § 597), willfully offering or making a payment for someone to vote, withhold a vote, or vote for or against a candidate is a criminal offense, punishable by a fine and up to two years in prison. But no one can be intellectually honest and say that Trump's promise constitutes a crime. If it was, nearly every Democrat candidate in the past 90 years would be in prison
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship." That quote is usually attributed to 18th century Scottish historian Alexander Tytler or to 18th century French historian Alexis de Tocqueville. But the real author is unknown. Regardless of who said it, it is absolutely correct.
Something else that is absolutely correct: it is impossible for Republicans to ever out-promise the Democrats when it comes to buying votes with largess out of the public treasury. That Donald Trump even tried is disgusting.