00:09During U.S. President Donald Trump's speech at the GOP midterm convention in Dallas last
00:14night, he made a pledge. If Republicans retain control of the House and the Senate in the
00:19midterms, he will give every American adult $5,000.
00:24The only caveat I have is that the dividend that we are making must be spent in the United
00:32States of America. We don't want you...
00:34It's a big promise and one that could cost more than $1 trillion. He's likened the payments
00:39to corporate dividends, citing his administration's economic success. But it could further exacerbate
00:45the country's nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit.
00:50And one question immediately comes to mind. Is it even legal?
00:54Well, interestingly, it is legal. This is a campaign promise. It's not a payment to individuals
01:02to try to get them to vote in a particular way. And there's a distinction. So it's essentially
01:07saying this is a promise made during a campaign. It would apply to the way it was described
01:12by President Trump. It would apply to everybody. Democrats, Republicans, people who didn't vote
01:18as long as you were an adult citizen of the US. So technically it is legal to make a campaign
01:24promise like that.
01:25Within an hour of the speech, the promise was tempered in part by Vice President J.D.
01:30Vance, who said the payments would not go to the wealthy. He also suggested that it could
01:35be paid for by US tariff revenues. But the suggested payment is far larger than what the US has taken
01:41in with those tariff measures. Also, Congress would need to approve or otherwise acquiesce
01:46to the payment. It's not the first time Trump has made a promise like this. He suggested
01:51paying a $2,000 dividend to Americans without asking Congress's approval. And last year he
01:58gave members of the military a $1,776 check, which he called a warrior dividend. Republicans
02:05are on the defense as they look to defend their narrow House majority against strong headwinds. Trump is
02:11unpopular and Americans overwhelmingly oppose the war in Iran. Even the Senate, which Republicans
02:16were once well positioned to keep, is up for grabs.
02:20Thank you very much.
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