Trump pushes $5,000 voter pledge as GOP candidates ignore midterm advice

Donald Trump used a Republican midterm convention in Dallas to urge voters to treat the November elections as a referendum on his presidency and promised $5,000 payments to every American if his party retains congressional majorities. The Washington Post analyzed over one million social-media posts from GOP candidates in the week after the convention and found most are ignoring Trump's guidance, preferring to campaign on local issues such as inflation and the Iran war.

Trump-backed candidates won 97 percent of their primaries — 220 of 227 — but analysts note he largely endorsed incumbents who rarely lose, and 40 percent of those candidates faced no primary opposition. Political scientists say his endorsement remains a crucial signal in low-information primaries where party labels offer little guidance.

“The support of Trump has a great value during Republican primaries.”

Recent polling shows 67 percent of Americans believe Trump does not carefully consider important decisions, while 71 percent say he lacks an even temperament. More than 70 percent of registered voters say he has no plan for the Iran war, according to Fox News and CNN surveys. Two-thirds of voters call the $5,000 offer inappropriate.

Trump also threatened to withhold disaster aid from North Carolina if voters elect a Democratic senator, a remark he later called a joke. He repeated an unverified story about being carried from Ground Zero on 9/11 and baselessly accused Democrats of conspiring to kill him. The White House has now denied CNN access to presidential events.