Political Wire

‘Trump Dividend’ Wins Instant Republican Critics

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“President Donald Trump dropped a hot mess of a half-baked midterm promise in lawmakers’ laps last night,” Politico reports.

“Trump at the GOP’s convention pledged to send $5,000 to every adult in the U.S. if Republicans retain control of Congress in the midterms… And while the crowd of thousands of his supporters gathered at Dallas’ American Airlines Center cheered the announcement, GOP fiscal hawks were balking at the effort before Trump even left the stage.”

“The payout, which would need to be approved by Congress, would dwarf the amount distributed during the Covid pandemic and likely explode the deficit.”

“A GOP operative, granted anonymity to discuss the idea, expressed skepticism, calling it ‘a desperate attempt to change the political mood.'”

Quote of the Day

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“Vance is smart to be laser focused on the midterm elections. He has proven to be one of the most prolific fundraisers the GOP has. It is pretty clear that if he runs for president in ’28, he will be the nominee.”

— A person close to the White House, quoted by Politico.

Trump Pledges $5K Dividend if GOP Wins Congress

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“President Trump pledged a $5,000 payout to U.S. adults on Wednesday, but only if Republicans hold onto their majority in Congress come November,” The Hill reports.

Said Trump: “Here is my promise: if the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them … because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.”

”The legality of this disbursal is unclear.”

Bloomberg: Trump’s dividend promise would cost more than $1 trillion.

Trump to Send $500 ‘Obamacare Rebates’ Before Election

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“The Trump administration plans to send $500 rebate checks to as many as 1 million people who it says were overcharged for their coverage under Obamacare,” Axios reports.

“The direct-deposit payment would be sent to people in 30 states before the Nov. 3 midterm election, as Trump touts savings from his tax-cut legislation and prescription drug plan.”

Trump Has Promised Cash Payments Before

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“First, at the start of his second term, President Trump promised a DOGE dividend, a pledge to take the money that Elon Musk’s team would cut from the federal budget and send it to the American people,” the New York Times reports.

“Then Mr. Trump moved on to a ‘tariff refund,’ a plan to use the money the government was collecting in import taxes to fund payments for the public.”

“Those ideas never panned out. Nevertheless, Mr. Trump is again talking up the possibility that the federal government will send Americans thousands of dollars in cash.”

Iran Shows New Appetite for Escalation

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“Iran is increasingly trying to escalate its conflict with the U.S. as it seeks to break a stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz that is strangling its economy,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“At least three times in the past week, Iranian forces have launched missiles at American warships, including an aircraft carrier, taking direct aim at the U.S. Navy in a way it hasn’t done since the start of the war. Iran also fired a large missile salvo at U.S. forces stationed in Jordan on Wednesday.”

“The attempted strikes on warships have led to much closer calls than previous attempts, with Iran using maneuverable warheads.”

How Trump’s Social Media Reflects His Version of Reality

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“Just before noon on a holiday weekend, while many Americans were at the beach, President Trump’s social media account roared to life. In what has increasingly become his weekend habit, he unleashed a daylong barrage of posts that put the bully in the modern bully pulpit,” the New York Times reports.

“There were images of Mr. Trump intimidating Canada’s prime minister with a hockey stick, personally bombing enemy targets and patrolling dark streets with killer robots. There were maps showing the United States taking over other countries, and maps renaming a state. There were attacks on the ‘Dumocratic Party’ and tributes to himself as ‘the Greatest President of All Time!'”

“The 60 messages posted online over 10 hours and 41 minutes offered a window into Mr. Trump’s own unique reality, one anchored not in fact but in an expression of ego.”

South Korea Nears Agreement On U.S. Investments

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“The South Korean government is nearing the announcement of a major energy investment project in the U.S. to support America’s artificial-intelligence build-out, a long-awaited development of the trade deal struck between Washington and Seoul last year,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The deal, potentially worth more than $100 billion, envisions South Korea financing the construction of up to eight nuclear power plants and a natural-gas project.”

See How Canada Is Shifting Its Trade Beyond the U.S.

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“Canada is aggressively courting new trading partners as relations with the United States grow increasingly tense, in a move that could deliver economic consequences for U.S. businesses and consumers,” the Washington Post reports.

”Canada has an ambitious goal to double its exports to countries beyond the U.S. by 2035, a target that has become more urgent in the face of hefty new tariffs — from both sides — taking effect. President Donald Trump imposed 50 percent levies on a long list of Canadian products this summer and has needled Canadians by suggesting the country should become the 51st U.S. state.”

Trump Proposes Eliminating Race Questions From Census

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“The Trump administration is proposing an overhaul of the 2030 census by eliminating questions about race and ethnicity and restricting how immigrants would be counted when census results are used for allotting congressional seats,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The Commerce Department, which oversees the census, proposed not to count most immigrants toward the population used to apportion seats for the House, unless they have become citizens or hold permanent resident status.”

NPR: Trump officials propose sweeping changes to the census that would reshape voting maps.

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

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“We have more money being spent from outside countries and companies — over $20 trillion. That’s five, six, seven times higher than any country. Not just here — any country ever. Now it’s over 20 for less than two years.”

— President Trump, quoted by the New York Times, claiming foreign investment which is nearly double what the White House has tallied. And most of that is just informal pledges.

Postal Service Failed to Properly Handle Some Ballots

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“Some U.S. Postal Service facilities failed to properly handle ballots during this year’s primary elections, according to a new audit from the agency’s Office of Inspector General,” ProPublica reports.

“Election experts say the findings call into question the agency’s ability to meet even greater demands for the November election that are under consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

“The audit, which is dated Sept. 4 but has not been previously reported, found a lack of training for post office staff on how to properly and expeditiously handle mail ballots, deficiencies in how ballots were tracked and errors leading to delays, all of which risked ballots having incorrect postmarks or otherwise arriving late to election officials, which could lead to their rejection.”

John Fetterman to Address GOP Midterm Convention

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“Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) delivered a video message at the Republican midterm convention, in which he praised a bipartisan effort to bolster the steel industry and distanced himself from his party’s left wing,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“It comes on the first night of the Republican midterm convention, in which multiple speakers have portrayed Democrats as radical extremists and out of touch with American values.”

Axios: Fetterman to praise Trump in bombshell GOP convention video.

About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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