Trump blames Dems when Fox News' Ingraham corners him on potential bribes

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during an event at The Villages Charter School at The Villages, Florida, U.S., May 1, 2026. REUTERS_Nathan Howard

On Thursday, after President Donald Trump claimed he would send American adults checks for $5,000 if Republicans retained control of Congress after the midterms, he offered a confused explanation to Fox News as to why he couldn’t pay out the money “now.” According to Trump, it’s the Democrats’ fault. What’s more, he argued that the sky-high price tag of the payouts would be covered by a thoroughly debunked economic strategy.

“Why not give the money now?” asked Fox News host Laura Ingraham, a staunch Trump ally. “If you have the money, why not give it now?” While some conservatives have backed the plan, many have questioned how it would be funded and raised other practical concerns – like whether it amounts to socialism.

Trump dodged with a characteristically rambling response. “Because the Democrats can’t do it,” declared the president. “Because with them it’s negative growth. With us it’s so positive. We’re taking in $21 trillion. No country has ever taken in anywhere near that. It’s four or five times higher than the next one. All because of that beautiful word that you and I love more than most others. Tariffs.”

Blaming the Democrats is one of Trump’s most common tactics, but in this case it’s a particularly confusing attack. He and the GOP have been adamant that a Democratic victory in the midterms would result in socialism, but as even conservative commentators have noted, his $5,000 proposal is itself a form of redistributing wealth – in other words, socialism. According to National Review Senior Editor Charles Cooke, Trump’s move “joins socialists” and “embraces bribery.” The whole concept, said Cooke, is “morally, practically, and politically catastrophic.”

And Republicans aren’t the only ones pushing back against Trump’s plan: so is economic reality. Trump’s claim that the U.S. has collected $21 trillion from tariffs has no basis in fact. Quite the opposite. Trump’s tariffs were largely declared illegal by the Supreme Court, which forced him to pay the fees back to businesses, which in turn was a large contributor to the skyrocketing national deficit. What’s more, tariffs are paid for by the consumer, so even if Trump was paying out $5,000 checks using tariff money, it would essentially amount to Americans paying themselves.

As Cooke put it, “His pledge of $5,000 ‘dividends’ to voters if Republicans win is just preposterous.”

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