Trump is promising Americans cash if Republicans retain Congress. But whose money is it, and what are we being asked to overlook?
Can we be bought with our own money?
That’s the question we keep coming back to after Medicare announced a one-time $90 payment toward their October premium. The letter was signed by President Donald J. Trump. It began by acknowledging that Congress had provided $2 billion to improve Medicare. Then Trump spent several paragraphs celebrating his administration’s healthcare accomplishments.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, approximately 21 million eligible beneficiaries are receiving the $90 payment from the Medicare Improvement Fund. The letter reads less like a government benefit notification than a presidential advertisement. That’s insulting — not because $90 is worthless, but because this isn’t Trump’s money.
Congress provided the funding. The president’s signature doesn’t turn public dollars into a personal gift. Yet here we are, weeks before the midterm elections, receiving a congratulatory letter from the president about $90.
Then there’s the bigger promise. According to the Associated Press, Trump told voters at a September rally in Gastonia that Americans would receive $5,000 if Republicans retained control of Congress. He calls it the “Trump dividend.”
According to PolitiFact, the proposal could cost approximately $1.2 trillion. Congress would have to approve the expenditure, and no funded payment program currently exists. PolitiFact also reported that such a massive expenditure could increase federal borrowing and inflation if sufficient revenue isn’t available. So the money being promised to make life more affordable could potentially contribute to higher costs and additional national debt.
And we’ve heard similar promises before. The Associated Press reported on October 20 that Trump previously proposed payments funded through tariff revenue and government spending cuts. Neither materialized.
According to KFF, a nonpartisan, nonprofit source for information on national health issues, Trump also proposed distributing $200 prescription drug cards to Medicare beneficiaries shortly before the 2020 election. Those cards never arrived.
Is the latest promise a serious economic proposal? Or is it an attempt to make voters associate their financial security with Republicans remaining in power? Our money, his name.
The Medicare letter isn’t the only government communication promoting Trump. Many (including this writer) have received an email from the Social Security Administration encouraging families to activate what are being called “Trump Accounts,” which are investment accounts for children created under the 2025 tax and spending law. According to an October 20 Social Security Administration announcement, eligible children born between January 2025 and December 2028 may receive a one-time $1,000 contribution from the U.S. Treasury.
Unlike the promised $5,000 checks, Trump Accounts are an established program. But the government email repeatedly praises Trump and directs families to a program bearing his name. Why are taxpayer-supported programs being presented so personally?
We fund the government. Congress authorizes federal spending. And when the government borrows money, the resulting debt becomes a public obligation. These aren’t gifts from a wealthy benefactor. They’re public benefits and proposed expenditures. There’s a difference.
While the administration promotes payments, its policies have consequences that cannot be erased by a check. According to the Congressional Budget Office, Medicaid provisions in the 2025 reconciliation law are projected to increase the number of uninsured Americans by 7.5 million in 2034. In its 2026 budget outlook, the CBO also projects that the law will reduce federal SNAP spending by $211 billion through 2035, reflecting fewer recipients, smaller average benefits and higher state costs.
Here in North Carolina, Gov. Josh Stein’s office reported on October 13 that more than 250,000 Medicaid expansion beneficiaries could lose healthcare coverage under the new federal requirements. Up to 90,000 North Carolinians could lose food assistance. Those are projected losses, not people who have already been removed from the programs, but the consequences could be devastating.
Those consequences deserve examination regardless of whether voters are promised financial relief. Trump has made the $5,000 promise conditional on Republicans retaining control of both chambers of Congress. That makes congressional oversight part of the story.
According to the Congressional Research Service, Congress has broad authority to investigate executive branch activities, oversee federal agencies and control government spending. Congress isn’t simply an extension of the presidency. Lawmakers can question officials, investigate government decisions and examine whether public money is being spent lawfully. The courts provide another check by reviewing legal challenges to executive actions.
According to PolitiFact’s September analysis, election-law experts distinguish campaign promises of government benefits from illegal payments to individuals for their votes. That legal distinction matters. But legality doesn’t settle every ethical question. Trump has explicitly connected a proposed government payment to Republicans retaining congressional power. His administration has promoted a real Medicare payment with a letter celebrating the president. And federal agencies are advertising programs bearing his name.
Meanwhile, Americans must live with the consequences of federal policy long after an election-season promise disappears. Government assistance is not objectionable. The suggestion that receiving it should inspire personal gratitude toward a president is. The idea that a one-time payment should distract from questions about healthcare, food security, civil rights, government debt and constitutional accountability are all extremely objectionable.
And that this administration’s efforts to tantalize voters with money that hasn’t been approved, funded or delivered is just as offensive.
We pay taxes. We fund the government. We bear the consequences of its decisions. The money isn’t Trump’s. The debt is ours. And our votes deserve more than a promise to give us back a little of what already belongs to the public.
This story is brought to you by Rosedale Health and Wellness and Dudley’s Place.
