US President Donald Trump dances on stage during a rally at Pinnacle Bank Expo Center in Grand Island, Nebraska, US, October 5, 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
President Donald Trump's desperate bid to salvage the midterms with bribes and goodies got a withering response on CNN's Table for Five, with the panel likening him to a third grader running for class president, making wild "pie in the sky" promises to win.
On Saturday, the latest edition of the CNN panel show opened with host Abby Phillip detailing the many promises Trump has tried to entice voters with in recent weeks, amid persistent polling that shows the GOP is heading for a major wipeout against Democrats in the midterms. This included his claim that every American adult would receive $5,000 if Republicans won the House and Senate, or that he would help pass a new bill to allow the sale of certain fuel blends year-round.
Phillip, in her appraisal of the tactic, likened Trump to a desperate child.
"Remember the kid in third gradewho made wild promises if hebecame student governmentpresident?" Phillip said. "Chocolate milk inthe water fountains, no morehomework, pizza Fridays everyday. Well, with just ten days togo until the midterms, Donald Trump is wandering the hallsdelivering a pie in the sky. Thepresident is making a laundrylist of promises to voters, butmost of them are coming with acatch: his party has to win."
Following a supercut of Trump's recent promises, Phillip further explained how this plan "rings hollow," given both how expensive something like the $5,000 check plan would be, and how many of his similar promises in the past, including dividend checks for all American adults based on supposed tariff revenue and DOGE cuts.
Another panel member, the former Trump staffer Alyssa Farrah Griffin, argued that it was much too late in the midterm game for these sorts of promises to have any hope of impacting voters.
"It feels like a little toolate to be doing any kind ofhandouts at this point," she explained. "Listen,how people feel about theeconomy is baked in at thispoint. The price of gas,inflation, low jobs. We've justhad a revision of the jobsreport that was pretty abysmalfor the last quarter. That's notwhere you want to be headinginto the midterms. So you dokind of have to come up withthese free giveaways. There'snot really another message toproactively sell... And I thinkwhile people do appreciaterelief, I think that they do, frankly, see it as sort of abribe for their vote."
Another panel member, California Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, argued that Trump is planning on not having to make good on these promises.
"But I think this helps him inthe sense that afterwards, when Democrats win, he can belike, 'Well, see, I know youcan't make ends meet, but if wewon the House, I would havegiven you $5,000,'" the congresswoman argued. "'I know we'renot giving you anything foryour, you know, being a victimof water, poisoned water. But,you know, if we voteddifferently.' So to me, he'sthrowing these things out hereknowing full well that he's notgoing to have to deliver on them,because Republicans are veryunlikely to win the House. Andhe's saying, you've got to winthe House, you got to win the Senate. Like, I don't thinkthey're going to win either, but I think he's letting himselfsay, 'Now, see, I offered youthese things and you, theAmerican people,' he's shiftingblame onto the American peoplefor why they're not going toget these things."