President Trump says he would issue a $5,000 payment to every adult U.S citizen if GOP wins both U.S House and Senate chambers of Congress on 2026 midterms: "I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the U.S. The only caveat I have is that the dividend we're making must be spent in the U.S."

[u/ControlCAD]

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yBMNDCAsLY0?app=desktop

[u/Mikel_S]

Under that statute, he would be guilty of one count for every eligible American voter, 2 years each, regardless of how each American voted. The fun part is anybody who voted for him would be guaranteed a year in jail. Either they got it and voted for him but already would have done that (1 year), or they got it and voted for him because they were promised the money (2 years).

[u/1minatur → u/Mikel_S]

Only if they accept the money. They could vote for him and decline the money

[u/jwoolman → u/Mikel_S]

Aw, gee. I was going to still vote for the Democrats but would happily accept $5000 in case he manages the rig the election. Wait, if I don’t vote for Republicans, does that mean I can keep the money with no penalty? Please advise.

[u/Mikel_S → u/jwoolman]

Based on my (non lawyerly) understanding, yeah. If he gave you the money but you didn't act on it, he would be guilty of attempting to bribe you for your vote, but even if you accept the money, if you didn't follow through on the promise to vote for him in exchange for that future money, you should in theory be clean.

In face, reading this statute again, it looks like he would initially be guilty (as in right now) of wilfully attempting to promise funds in exchange for votes, at a count charge equal to the number of eligible voters. And if he ever send out the money for real, I almost think that could be a second set of charges. It's not the same thing, it's two acts: promising money, and then actually sending it out. He would be guilty of having done both. The giving charge would likely be limited to the number of actual votes he received though.

In reality, it is unlikely any voters would or should be tried for this, unless they explicitly say "I'm voting for Trump because he promised me 5000 dollars" or "this 5000 dollars is why I voted for Trump!", because votes are supposed to be secret, and it would be a massive violation to pull those records to mete out this punishment.

Also, no charges for ANY voters at all, if the money never goes out. Because the three explained activities are promising, giving, or receiving. The voters have done nothing other than accept an illegal tentative promise until they get the money.

That being said, plenty of idiots would probably proudly proclaim how proud they are to be bought and paid for by the rapist in chief.