Trump’s vote-buying scheme is a betrayal of conservatism

As the midterm elections draw near and Republican poll numbers continue to sink across key battleground states, President Donald Trump is attempting to offer voters an audacious proposal: Elect a GOP Congress in November, and the federal government will send every American five grand.“I’m going to give all adult citizens in the United States of America $5,000. Democrat policies won’t allow this to happen. In fact, the opposite. They’re going to raise your taxes. If the Democrats win, you will have an economic depression. If the Republicans win, you will each have $5,000 in your pocket, an economic success for our country like we have never ever seen before,” Trump said in a video statement.This proposal is transparently transactional, and it strips away any lingering pretense of fiscal conservatism on the Right. What was once the party of limited government, entitlement reform, and balanced budgets has devolved into a brazen vote-buying scheme. Trump’s gambit, which is almost certainly dead on arrival, even with a Republican-controlled Congress, manages to be economically destructive, mathematically absurd, and politically pathetic all at once. I would be remiss if I didn’t start with the economics that make this a non-starter. Injecting over $1.3 trillion into an economy already battered by trade war disruptions and elevated living costs is a recipe for inflationary chaos. We have seen this movie before. The multitrillion-dollar COVID-19-era stimulus checks triggered the worst inflationary cycle in over four decades, stripping away real wage growth and forcing the Federal Reserve to jack up interest rates.Promising to pour another trillion-plus of liquidity into consumer markets while simultaneously imposing 50% tariffs on foreign goods is like dumping gasoline on a house fire.If you believe that this so-called “dividend” can be paid by tariff revenue or savings accrued due to crackdowns on fraud, I have some oceanfront property to sell you in Grand Island, Nebraska. Total U.S. Customs duties bring in a fraction of what this proposal would cost. With the national debt having recently crossed the $40 trillion mark and annual budget deficits approaching $2 trillion, there is no secret vault in the treasury waiting to be unlocked. A $5,000 check per citizen would be funded the exact same way as the COVID-19 relief checks: massive, debt-fueled money printing that steals purchasing power from American families through the silent tax of inflation.Economics aside, it is a fool’s errand for Republicans to attempt to out-bribe the Democratic Party. The Left built its coalition on the promise of an ever-expanding welfare state, student loan forgiveness, expanded tax credits, and government subsidization. When Republicans play this game, they betray their (former) principles and cede the argument to their opponents. Attempting to defeat international socialism via national socialism turns our politics into a downward spiral to fiscal insolvency, to say nothing of the historical red flags (insert Norm Macdonald’s “history buffs” meme).It is understandable that Trump is attempting to deflect from current news cycles. His agenda, both domestically and in foreign policy, has collided with harsh realities. The trade war, particularly the aggressive tariffs targeting Canada, has backfired disastrously, alienating key Midwestern voters and pushing candidates, such as Michigan’s Mike Rogers, to openly break with the White House on trade. Overseas, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East continue to drag on without the swift resolutions that were promised repeatedly, keeping energy markets volatile and gas prices painfully high. The president has resorted to buying diesel from Russia and saying the quiet part out loud: that the U.S. military is essentially on ice until after the election.TRUMP’S PROMISED $5,000 ‘DIVIDEND’ CHECKS: WHAT TO KNOWWhen foreign policy is stalled, and trade policy is actively harming domestic workers, a leader can pivot to sound, principled policy or double down and attempt to distract. Trump has chosen distraction. $5,000 checks are not a serious policy proposal; they are a smoke screen designed to mask an underwater approval rating and divert attention from a failing Midterm narrative.If Republicans want to survive the election, the White House needs to offer Americans relief from their own failed tariff regime and level with the American people on foreign policy. Voters are smart enough to understand an unpayable check from a bankrupt treasury when they see one.Brady Leonard (@bradyleonard) is a writer, musician, and host of The No Gimmicks Podcast.