Republicans 'squirming' as they 'dance around' Trump’s bribe

During the recent Republican Midterms Convention in Dallas, President Donald Trump set off yet another controversy when he promised to pay Americans $5000 each if Republicans maintain both branches of Congress in the 2026 midterms. And according to CNN's Aaron Blake, GOP lawmakers are "squirming" over Trump's "quid pro quo" promise.

One of them is Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas).

"When President Donald Trump said he would give adult U.S. citizens $5000 each if they reelected Republican majorities in the 2026 midterm elections," Blake observes in his CNN piece, "Sen. Roger Marshall was one of the first lawmakers to tout the idea."

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, last week, Marshall wrote, "Comment how you will spend your $5,000 Trump Dividend when Republicans win in November."

Blake notes, "By Saturday, though, Marshall sounded a much more skeptical note during a debate at the Kansas State Fair. 'I'm going to bring in all the information, and then make a decision,' said Marshall, who faces a surprisingly competitive reelection race. 'But look, this is not the first time I've disagreed with President Trump, and it probably won't be the last.' It was like a slow-motion backflip — from apparent enthusiastic support, to undecided, to Marshall apparently distancing himself. But it's hardly the only example of Trump allies' rhetorical gymnastics in recent days."

Blake adds, "Sometimes it seems like Trump almost enjoys making allies squirm with proposals like this — and squirm they have."

The "squirming," according to Blake, is coming from everyone from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) to Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) as they are "dancing around" the proposal.

"On Sunday," according to Blake, "NBC's Kristen Welker noted on 'Meet the Press' that Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine — who, like Marshall, is up for reelection — said that the checks 'should not appear to be tied to election results.' Johnson responded by citing 'the Democrats who are making that claim.' But Welker noted three times that she was citing a Republican … GOP Rep. Pat Fallon of Texas also tried to tone down the bribe-y nature of the arrangement Thursday on Fox News. 'President Trump isn't saying that, if we win, we'll do this,' Fallon claimed. 'He's saying we'll be in a position to do this because we'll have the votes to do it.'"

Blake points out that Rep. Mike Lawler (R-New York) "strained … to avoid being pinned down on the issue."

"In other words," Blake writes, "there's plenty for the GOP to hate about this proposal. So, they just keep dancing around it and talking about it as if it's something that it's not."