President Donald Trump’s proposal to send $5,000 payments to American adults if Republicans keep control of Congress is drawing skepticism from voters in Detroit, several of whom said they’ve heard similar promises before that never came through.
Trump unveiled the new “Trump dividend” plan at the Midterm GOP Convention last Wednesday. It follows an earlier idea, floated in February 2025, that a share of savings identified by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could be returned to taxpayers. Elon Musk had entertained a proposal for payments up to $5,000, and Trump later backed returning 20% of DOGE savings to Americans. DOGE reported $110.3 billion in savings from contracts, grants and leases, but a Government Accountability Office review later found some of those estimates were inaccurate or lacked adequate support.
At the Detroit Health Department’s annual Block Party on Sept. 12, several residents interviewed by Fox News Digital rejected the new $5,000 idea outright, with some calling it a bribe and others doubting it would ever be paid.
“I feel like that’s a pitch to get more votes,” Yolanda Lewis said. “I’m still waiting on the DOGE check that he promised that we never received, so until he gives us a definite date saying when we’re gonna get that and receive it, then I’ll take that into consideration.”
Cost of the plan questioned
Jahdante Smith, the Green Party candidate for Michigan’s state House 9th district, said he sees the proposal as reckless given the nation’s roughly $40 trillion debt.
“I think it’s kind of irresponsible because what is the long-term impact of this money? So where does that money come from? Where do you divert those funds from? Also, I think that it is sort of a bribe,” Smith said.
Michigan, which Trump carried by 1.4 percentage points in 2024, is a central battleground in the fight for Senate control, with Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers competing for the state’s open seat. El-Sayed called the $5,000 proposal “unserious” at a rally in Lansing.
“Funny thing about it is like there’s no world in which you can pay for it,” El-Sayed said. “So how about you actually do some governing and like solve the Social Security problem. How about we guarantee people health care so they don’t have to pay so much for that.”
The Rogers campaign did not directly address his stance on the $5,000 plan, instead criticizing El-Sayed’s support for a progressive tax plan. “You know what’s not serious? Challenging Mike to a 1:1 football scrimmage, taking money from Designated Terrorist Organizations and advocating to raise taxes for Michiganders while they’re already paying for Democrats’ mismanagement,” said Alyssa Brouillet, communications director for the Rogers campaign. “Funny enough, those are things Abdul does.”
Affordability weighs heavily in Detroit
Roughly a third of Detroit residents live below the federal poverty line, and the city’s median household income is below $40,000, according to U.S. Census data.
“Well, as a city Detroit retiree, affordability is very important, and I think the prices since Trump’s been back in office have gone up on everything, especially gas, diesel, you know, affordabilities went out the window,” said William Davis, a retired city employee.
Gas in Detroit currently costs $4.11 per gallon, up from between $2.81 and $2.92 in January, before the Iran war.
Martesha Adams, a nurse and young mother in Detroit, also described the offer as an attempt to win over people who are struggling. “The whole time I feel that he’s been in the office, it’s been a kind of game,” Adams said. “America has been laughed at from everywhere. And the $5K for bribery, that’s nothing. So I hope that people do not go for that bribe, and they really look into the politics.”
Shelby Campbell, a 2023 Wayne State University graduate who said she sold her car because she could no longer afford Michigan’s no-fault auto insurance, called the proposal “disgusting.” “He shouldn’t be able to offer people money if we have one party in office,” Campbell said. “It’s supposed to be about everybody and what we all want and need, so it’s just bribery in my opinion.” Campbell said she plans to vote for El-Sayed and argued that money already plays too large a role in politics. “I think he’s genuinely a good guy, and he wants to get money out of politics, and I am all for that,” she said. “We seriously need that because big corporations buy our elections just like Donald Trump is trying to do.”
Davis said he doesn’t expect the payments to materialize. “I don’t think it’s realistic to think he’s going to do that,” he said, noting that a separate $2,000 dividend Trump proposed last year, funded by tariff revenue, never went out.
Republicans in Washington divided on next steps
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Sunday on “Meet the Press” that the $5,000 payments would require congressional approval, while pledging to work toward Trump’s proposal. “I never go out and give big commitments on the front end because I’ve got to work through it, and that’s what we do every single day,” Johnson said.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, posted on X that he’d work to prepare a bill and get it passed before the election. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., rejected the idea that Trump was trying to “bribe” voters. “The only thing that I knew of was that he has this concept of a dividend of all Americans being able to share in the success of America,” Emmer told Politico. “Let the policy guys draft it. Let them debate it. Let them move it through committee. You get it to the whip’s office. We’ll pass it.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
