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Transcript SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST: The Republican convention in Dallas closes tonight with speeches from President Trump and Vice President Vance. But it was Trump's speech last night that's raising eyebrows and questions. The President promised to send $5,000 to every adult citizen, but only if Republicans win the midterms.
NPR's Tamara Keith is in Dallas for the convention, and she's on the line with us now. Hi, Tam. TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Hello.
PFEIFFER: Tam, here is some tape of the president with his surprise announcement Wednesday night. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) PRES DONALD TRUMP: So if the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000. It will be called the Trump dividend. We'll call it the Trump dividend.
PFEIFFER: Tam, can he really send $5,000 to every American adult citizen if Republicans win? KEITH: Well, not on his own. He'd need Congress to pass it, and that would be a tough climb, even if Republicans were to maintain control of the House and the Senate, which is a big if given the current political climate.
The Groundwork Collaborative, an economic think tank, found 15 other instances of Trump promising to send some kind of payment or refund or dividend to Americans just since he returned to office last year, and it still hasn't happened. And some quick math - the bill for this proposed dividend would be more than $1 trillion. Plus, it's illegal to pay or be paid to influence voting.
In an interview with Laura Ingraham of Fox News, Trump didn't have much of an answer when faced with even the slightest pushback. (SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE INGRAHAM ANGLE") LAURA INGRAHAM: Why not just give the money now? If you have the money, why not... TRUMP: Because they can't...
INGRAHAM: ...Give it now? TRUMP: ...I'll tell you what - because the Democrats can't do it. Because with them, it's negative growth.
With us, it's so positive. KEITH: The real answer is that Republicans in Congress haven't even tried, and also the major windfall the president claims to pay for it doesn't actually exist. PFEIFFER: So since he would need Congress' help, as you said, how is this being received politically?
KEITH: Republican leaders have been somewhat tepid, though one Republican senator pledged to introduce legislation to make this Trump dividend happen right after the midterms. Even some of the supporters I spoke to just now in the convention hall were skeptical. And then there are Democrats who have not held back.
Congressman Robert Garcia of California called the president a known liar. ROBERT GARCIA: Look, the dividend is not happening. He promised a dividend on tariffs.
That didn't happen. He promised a dividend on DOGE. That didn't happen.
And so there's no one in the country that thinks somehow this new dividend is actually going to happen. KEITH: President Trump's approval rating is in a really bad place right now, in part because he overpromised in 2024. He promised he'd cut energy prices in half.
He promised lower grocery prices. And instead, his tariff policies and war with Iran have only raised costs. Voters are unhappy, and they blame him.
A payment like this could only drive up inflation. PFEIFFER: All right. That was last night's startling headline.
What are you expecting tonight? KEITH: Well, President Trump is speaking again, but he said he won't deliver another overly long campaign speech. That puts all eyes on Vice President JD Vance.
I'll be watching what Trump says about Vance and whether the president reflects at all on the fact that this really is his last big convention - certainly the last one where he will be the center of the political universe because former presidents don't have the same influence when they're no longer the party's nominee for president. Come 2028, there will be a new nominee, and it will not be Donald J. Trump.
PFEIFFER: So with all that in mind, is this kind of a symbolic passing of the torch for Trump? KEITH: I can't imagine he's ready to hand it off just yet. After all, he's begging voters to vote as if he were on the ballot this year.
But tonight's lineup includes Donald Trump Jr., Ted Cruz and Vance. In a way, it could be read as kind of an audition for 2028. PFEIFFER: That is NPR senior political correspondent Tamara Keith.
Thanks, Tam. KEITH: You're welcome. Copyright © 2026 NPR.
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