A majority of Americans believe that they will not get a $5,000 dividend if the Republicans win the midterms proposed by President Donald Trump, a new poll found.
The Oct. 18 NBC News Decision Desk poll – taken with SurveyMonkey – found that 42% of respondents “definitely” do not think they will receive the check and 29% say they “probably” not get it, meaning that 71% think that Trump will not deliver on his proposal.
Only 14% of respondents said that they will receive the payment.
Trump launched the idea during the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas where he pledged to pay every American adult $5,000 if Republicans kept control of both houses of Congress in the midterms.
Experts say the dividend would cost an estimated $1.2 trillion and Congress would need to approve the payments.
The dividend was suggested as Republicans face headwinds in the midterms, particularly amidst the ongoing Iran war and the resultant spike in gas and diesel.
President Donald Trump gives a speech during a Kentucky midterm elections rally at Truist Arena, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, in Highland Heights, Ky.
Democrats decried the proposal, with Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, calling it a “political bribe,” and New York Rep. Dan Goldman saying it was a “corrupt and blatantly illegal.”
Some Republicans pushed back on the proposal. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned that it could “lead to more debt and inflation” while Maine Sen. Susan Collins said in a statement that spending decisions “should not appear to be tied to election results.”
Trump has previously suggested tariff dividend checks and DOGE stimulus checks that did not materialize.
What else did the poll find?
The poll also found that 71% of adults think the country is on the “wrong track,” which marks the highest margin of Trump’s second term. It also found that Trump’s approval rating fell to 34% among U.S. adults, a second-term low in NBC polling, and 51% percent of respondents said they “strongly disapprove” of Trump’s performance, a second-term high.
As for the midterms, 55% of registered voters in the NBC survey said they would choose Democrats over Republicans to control Congress during the final years of Trump’s second term.
However, both parties are underwater in the poll. Forty-three percent of adults view the Democratic Party favorably while 37% of respondents view Republicans favorably.
The NBC News Decision Desk poll surveyed 19,135 adults from Sept. 28 to Oct. 12. It has a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Majority of Americans doubt $5K Trump dividend proposal
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