Is Trump's $5,000 pledge a sign of panic?
Donald Trump has pledged to pay every American citizen $5,000 if Republicans win the upcoming midterm elections. The announcement has drawn criticism from political opponents and some fellow Republicans due to the lack of funding details and the massive fiscal impact.
Why it matters
The promise represents an unconventional and potentially fiscally disruptive campaign strategy that challenges traditional political norms and economic policy.
Figure caption, BBC’s Samira Hussain explains what needs to happen for Trump's $5,000 gift to become reality
North America editor, reporting from Dallas Published 1 hour ago We all know that Donald Trump does not feel the need to adhere to the normal rules of political campaigning. Even by his own unconventional standards, his extravagant promise to pay every American citizen $5,000 (£3,700) if the Republicans win the midterm elections was bizarre.
This enormous cash pledge was not the headline of his keynote address at the first night of his midterms Republican convention on Wednesday.
He slipped in the mention about an hour into his lengthy speech - just when the audience's attention was starting to waver.
The president offered no details on how this more than one-trillion-dollar pledge will be paid for or how the payments would be distributed.
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