J.D. Tuccille: Donald Trump’s bribe to American voters

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeNP Comment J.D. Tuccille: Donald Trump's bribe to American voters His promised $5,000-per-person payout to the nation if the midterms go his way lays bare the flaws of democracy Author of the article: By J.D. Tuccille Published Sep 20, 2026 Last updated 1 hour ago 5 minute read Join the conversation U.S. President Donald Trump steps away from the podium after speaking at a dinner in the Rose Garden of the White House on September 17, 2026 in Washington, D.C. PHOTO BY ANNA MONEYMAKER/GETTY IMAGES Article content At last week’s Republican midterm convention, U.S. President Donald Trump promised that “if the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate — both of them.… I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.” Article content His pledge combined two dumb notions — vote-buying and tariffs — into one package. True, Trump didn’t invent the idea of purchasing electoral support, nor is protectionism an original idea of his. But the president brings brazen excess to his promotion of the awful combination. Article content RECOMMENDED VIDEOS Article content Article content The payments are possible, he insisted, “because our country is making so much money.” He added that it would be “very much like a successful company will do a cash distribution to its shareholders.” Article content Channel Israel Columnist Jesse Kline keeps you up to date with what’s happening in Israel and the effects of antisemitism on life here in Canada. Friday mornings. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Article content “The reason the Democrats can’t do that is because they don’t do tariffs,” he said. Article content So, the promised payments to Americans will be funded by tariff income, the president says, but only if Americans vote for the Republican Party. At its core, politics is usually about courting voters with promised goods and services to be funded by somebody else. But rarely in modern times do we see such an overt offer of pay for ballots. Depending on how you look at it, it’s either bare-faced corruption or the distilled essence of democracy. Or both. Article content Alexander Fraser Tytler, the 18th-century historian, wrote of democracy: “The people flatter…