Trump would be getting the taxpayers to pay for it so technically speaking he'd be giving himself $5000.
Considered as a policy it would actually amount to a one-off universal basic income. So not actually an income, but otherwise its effects over the short term would be similar.
It is not the first time Trump has promised free money. Remember the "DOGE Dividend"? It was also supposed to be $5,000 paid out from all the money DOGE would save the US. Except that DOGE failed to save the promised money and the checks never issued. But it is interesting that the amount ($5,000) and the characterization ("dividend") is the same as his new vote-buying plan.
And then there was the $2,000 "tariff rebate" check to be paid from the zillions that tariffs would bring in. That got scuppered because there was not enough tariff revenue to actually fund the idea.
In other words, this was just a standard lie by Petulant Trump to try to buy popularity.
People have been saying that Trump's promise of $ 5 000 is an illegal bribe, but is it really? Because there's no quid pro quo at the level of the individual voter, but rather a government policy(albeit of a rather crude nature) covering everyone, regardless of how they vote.
People have been saying that Trump's promise of $ 5 000 is an illegal bribe, but is it really? Because there's no quid pro quo at the level of the individual voter, but rather a government policy.
Agreed, and the money doesn't come from Trump but from the national coffers. I'd say no, it is not.
People have been saying that Trump's promise of $ 5 000 is an illegal bribe, but is it really? Because there's no quid pro quo at the level of the individual voter, but rather a government policy.
Agreed, and the money doesn't come from Trump but from the national coffers. I'd say no, it is not.
I agree. I’m not even sure I’d call it a bribe morally. It’s basically a campaign promise, akin to “elect Republicans and we’ll cut taxes.” “Elect Republicans and we’ll return some of your tax dollars to you.”
A chicken in every pot and a car in every backyard, as it were.
Of course, we know how Trump is about keeping his promises.
A chicken in every pot and a car in every backyard, as it were.
But I think Hoover was promising to create an economy in which people would have enough money to eat well and buy a car, rather than actually give them money to buy those things.
A closer parallel would be "Vote for me, and I'll increase your social-security cheques by 10% per month."
A chicken in every pot and a car in every backyard, as it were.
But I think Hoover was promising to create an economy in which people would have enough money to eat well and buy a car, rather than actually give them money to buy those things.
Another quibble. Hoover never said it; it wasn’t his promise. It’s from an ad published by a group of Republican businessmen in support of Hoover just prior to the 1928 election, who said prosperity resulting from Republican government had resulted in “a chicken in every pot. And a car in every backyard, to boot.”
A chicken in every pot and a car in every backyard, as it were.
But I think Hoover was promising to create an economy in which people would have enough money to eat well and buy a car, rather than actually give them money to buy those things.
Another quibble. Hoover never said it; it wasn’t his promise. It’s from an ad published by a group of Republican businessmen in support of Hoover just prior to the 1928 election, who said prosperity resulting from Republican government had resulted in “a chicken in every pot. And a car in every backyard, to boot.”
Yes, I know not quite parallel.
Thanks! I think a Mad magazine book of historical cartoons is responsible for my impression that it was a direct quote from Hoover, though I'm sure it's a wider distribution than that.
I will say that I think it's odd that "Is Natalie Harp a weirdo?" has been the primary issue that people have milked from this quote, as opposed to, say, "Should the POTUS be flying around in a plane gifted by the very regime that many of his own supporters claim to be a major sponsor of anti-American activity?"
We've all already heard about the plane. We haven't all already heard about Natalie Harp. A person in his inner circle who is frequently the last person in the room (which always matters but especially matters with someone as ill-informed as Trump), a person who is feeding him information and/or misinformation every day, a person who has access to quite a bit or perhaps all of what comes across Trump's desk -- who sounds like a complete nut job and who has no security clearance.
So yeah, she's the focus at the moment.
I will put into the record that we now have this side-controversy about Trump's 40 grand gift to Harp making the rounds. Based on my own speed-reading of a few articles, the mainstream consensus seems to be something like the gifts may or may not have been in violation of some regulatory thingamabobs, but were in any case pretty inappropriate.
More or less inclined to file this way as another MAGA world scandal no one's gonna care about in a week(see Signalgate, for just one example), but it might be good to have in play alongside the 5 000 dollar payouts, as they both fall pretty easily, if not entirely accurately, into the broadly perceived vicinity of "bribery".
I was disappointed to hear that trump's alleged threat to turn off Niagara Falls to punish Canada was genuine fake news - too bad. It is actually possible to do it by diverting the flow when the channel around the falls needs repairs, but I doubt it can be done without the Canadians taking a major role. (If he had done it, it would have meant more cheap electricity for Canada, since there would be more water to flow through the hydro-electric installation).
There are photos of the Falls minus water, presumably taken during such a repair exercise - a memorable sight.
Why hasn't Trump renamed them yet?
Meanwhile, we hear that the egregious POTUS and his ghastly warlord Hegseth are busily using the 9/11 commemorations to advertise the righteousness and success of the war with Iran.
Truly, their brains (if they exist) are not of this world...
“Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA. We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount -- a Skydance Capitulation."
The unionists will disagree, of course, but Trump may be correct in saying that at some point the island of Ireland will be one country. Not yet, though, and certainly not at his say-so.
President Catherine Connolly (of whom Trump is reputed to have said 'He's lucky I exist') seems to have remained discreet and tight-lipped at her meeting with the Ogre.
I rather liked the protest placard reading 'Trump is so full of shit that toilets are jealous'.
Surprised no one has mentioned Trump thinking Ireland should be unified.
He's entitled to his opinion. The media shouldn't be distracted from attempts to discredit democratic elections, the trade war with Canada, persecution of immigrants, the war on Iran, the abuse of public office for self-aggrandisement, the rising cost of living, the war on the environment, and the Epstein files. Inter alia.
Surprised no one has mentioned Trump thinking Ireland should be unified.
He's entitled to his opinion. The media shouldn't be distracted from attempts to discredit democratic elections, the trade war with Canada, persecution of immigrants, the war on Iran, the abuse of public office for self-aggrandisement, the rising cost of living, the war on the environment, and the Epstein files. Inter alia.
Newsweek is saying that Trump has gone further than any other POTUS in endorsing Irish unification, which is probably true if you analyze his words by themselves. But it really strikes me as a case of Trump vocalizing his private thoughts of the moment, not representative of any planned-out strategy to deprive Britian of its Ulster holdings.
I believe Biden caused controversy by tooling around the island with the Irish flag in the Republic but no Union Jack in the North. He also welcomed some visiting Irish politicians to the Oval Office with the quip "No orange allowed", which prompted the rather hilarious response from an Irish protestant politician: "He needs to show that protestants are welcome in the White House."
Whereas Ian Paisley Jr rather desperately said that Trump was "entitled to his opinion even if it's wrong".... I wonder what his old dad would have said...
Whereas Ian Paisley Jr rather desperately said that Trump was "entitled to his opinion even if it's wrong".... I wonder what his old dad would have said...
Whereas Ian Paisley Jr rather desperately said that Trump was "entitled to his opinion even if it's wrong".... I wonder what his old dad would have said...
"NO SURRENDER"
Easy one, that one.
I was thinking "You Are The Antichrist", but then, Trump is Scottish Presbyterian, so...
Whereas Ian Paisley Jr rather desperately said that Trump was "entitled to his opinion even if it's wrong".... I wonder what his old dad would have said...
"NO SURRENDER"
Easy one, that one.
I was thinking "You Are The Antichrist", but then, Trump is Scottish Presbyterian, so...
Whereas Ian Paisley Jr rather desperately said that Trump was "entitled to his opinion even if it's wrong".... I wonder what his old dad would have said...
"NO SURRENDER"
Easy one, that one.
I was thinking "You Are The Antichrist", but then, Trump is Scottish Presbyterian, so...
He is what?! No.
His mother was Scottish. He was raised Presbyterian, then went with his parents to Marble Collegiate Church in NYC (Reformed Church in America, Norman Vincent Peele’s church). When he ran for President the first time, he said he identified as Presbyterian. He has since said he no longer identifies as Presbyterian; he identifies as nondenominational Christian.
Whereas Ian Paisley Jr rather desperately said that Trump was "entitled to his opinion even if it's wrong".... I wonder what his old dad would have said...
"NO SURRENDER"
Easy one, that one.
I was thinking "You Are The Antichrist", but then, Trump is Scottish Presbyterian, so...
He is what?! No.
Well, the quip wouldn't have been as snappy if I'd said "...was a cradle Presbytrian via his Scottish mother until at least 2016, but I believe now identifies with whatever Paula White is pushing."
(In the 2016 primaries, Trump engaged in one of the odder sectarian attacks in contemporary politics by saying of Ben Carson's faith "He's Seventh-Day Adventist. I don't know about them. I'm Presbyterian, that's right down the middle, folks.")
Posted before I saw @Nick Tamen's post. Kudos to him for throwing in the Peale connection.
I wonder if Trump was ever drawn to, if not engaged with, Peale's denominational and philosophical confrere Robert Schuller. He probably woulda fit in well with that milieu.
He likes the deep philosophers, like Norman Vincent Peale!
Psychologically if not theologically, Trump the guy today is very much a product of the self-improvement movement of the USA and elsewhere. Anyone who's spent time in and around multi-level marketing outfits knows the type.
I casually follow a conservative xtian influencer who attacks a lot of the self-improvement and prosperity programs as rooted in New Thought, and warns of their alleged incursions into the church(eg Joel Osteen). Her knowledge and analysis are decent enough, but the elephant in the room is Trump's heavily self-affirmative theology and practices, which, despite their very high media visibility, are never mentioned at all on the show. Most of her non-apologetic political commentary seems geared toward attacking Candace Owens and the conspiracist camp in the current TPUSA fratricide.
Despite arguing at times against involvement of clergy in politics, he nevertheless had some controversial affiliations with politically active organizations in the late 1930s, and engaged with national political candidates and their campaigns, having influence on some, including personal friendships with Presidents Richard Nixon and Donald Trump.
Nixon and Trump. I think that says enough.
Peale, btw, officiated at Trump’s first wedding (to Ivana).
Despite arguing at times against involvement of clergy in politics, he nevertheless had some controversial affiliations with politically active organizations in the late 1930s, and engaged with national political candidates and their campaigns, having influence on some, including personal friendships with Presidents Richard Nixon and Donald Trump.
Nixon and Trump. I think that says enough.
I would read into the record that Trump was nowhere near elected office at any point during Peale's lifetime, though I'd wager a guess that Peale would have at least approved of Trump's political ascension.
Other than that, there's the old Stevenson quip, which I'll concede might've sounded clever and snappy upon deliverance, but I can't really bring myself to type out now.
Comments
Why should voters be treated differently from donors?
He also has a reputation for not paying his legal bills and some others. I would be worried about him even sending a cheque.
I’m sure it would be “In the post”.
I have no idea why....
To those with longer memories that brings Robert Maxwell to mind.
Considered as a policy it would actually amount to a one-off universal basic income. So not actually an income, but otherwise its effects over the short term would be similar.
And then there was the $2,000 "tariff rebate" check to be paid from the zillions that tariffs would bring in. That got scuppered because there was not enough tariff revenue to actually fund the idea.
In other words, this was just a standard lie by Petulant Trump to try to buy popularity.
I have no doubt it is, but does Trump know, or care?
People have been saying that Trump's promise of $ 5 000 is an illegal bribe, but is it really? Because there's no quid pro quo at the level of the individual voter, but rather a government policy(albeit of a rather crude nature) covering everyone, regardless of how they vote.
A chicken in every pot and a car in every backyard, as it were.
Of course, we know how Trump is about keeping his promises.
But I think Hoover was promising to create an economy in which people would have enough money to eat well and buy a car, rather than actually give them money to buy those things.
A closer parallel would be "Vote for me, and I'll increase your social-security cheques by 10% per month."
Yes, I know not quite parallel.
Thanks! I think a Mad magazine book of historical cartoons is responsible for my impression that it was a direct quote from Hoover, though I'm sure it's a wider distribution than that.
I will put into the record that we now have this side-controversy about Trump's 40 grand gift to Harp making the rounds. Based on my own speed-reading of a few articles, the mainstream consensus seems to be something like the gifts may or may not have been in violation of some regulatory thingamabobs, but were in any case pretty inappropriate.
More or less inclined to file this way as another MAGA world scandal no one's gonna care about in a week(see Signalgate, for just one example), but it might be good to have in play alongside the 5 000 dollar payouts, as they both fall pretty easily, if not entirely accurately, into the broadly perceived vicinity of "bribery".
Why hasn't Trump renamed them yet?
Meanwhile, we hear that the egregious POTUS and his ghastly warlord Hegseth are busily using the 9/11 commemorations to advertise the righteousness and success of the war with Iran.
Truly, their brains (if they exist) are not of this world...
O well. We live in hope...
It would be serious coming from anyone else. Coming from him, it is simply trump living down to our expectations once again.
Or the fact that he called the Irish “vicious bastards”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/12/donald-trump-says-he-would-love-to-see-united-ireland
The unionists will disagree, of course, but Trump may be correct in saying that at some point the island of Ireland will be one country. Not yet, though, and certainly not at his say-so.
President Catherine Connolly (of whom Trump is reputed to have said 'He's lucky I exist') seems to have remained discreet and tight-lipped at her meeting with the Ogre.
I rather liked the protest placard reading 'Trump is so full of shit that toilets are jealous'.
Newsweek is saying that Trump has gone further than any other POTUS in endorsing Irish unification, which is probably true if you analyze his words by themselves. But it really strikes me as a case of Trump vocalizing his private thoughts of the moment, not representative of any planned-out strategy to deprive Britian of its Ulster holdings.
I believe Biden caused controversy by tooling around the island with the Irish flag in the Republic but no Union Jack in the North. He also welcomed some visiting Irish politicians to the Oval Office with the quip "No orange allowed", which prompted the rather hilarious response from an Irish protestant politician: "He needs to show that protestants are welcome in the White House."
"NO SURRENDER"
Easy one, that one.
I was thinking "You Are The Antichrist", but then, Trump is Scottish Presbyterian, so...
He is what?! No.
Well, the quip wouldn't have been as snappy if I'd said "...was a cradle Presbytrian via his Scottish mother until at least 2016, but I believe now identifies with whatever Paula White is pushing."
(In the 2016 primaries, Trump engaged in one of the odder sectarian attacks in contemporary politics by saying of Ben Carson's faith "He's Seventh-Day Adventist. I don't know about them. I'm Presbyterian, that's right down the middle, folks.")
I wonder if Trump was ever drawn to, if not engaged with, Peale's denominational and philosophical confrere Robert Schuller. He probably woulda fit in well with that milieu.
Psychologically if not theologically, Trump the guy today is very much a product of the self-improvement movement of the USA and elsewhere. Anyone who's spent time in and around multi-level marketing outfits knows the type.
I casually follow a conservative xtian influencer who attacks a lot of the self-improvement and prosperity programs as rooted in New Thought, and warns of their alleged incursions into the church(eg Joel Osteen). Her knowledge and analysis are decent enough, but the elephant in the room is Trump's heavily self-affirmative theology and practices, which, despite their very high media visibility, are never mentioned at all on the show. Most of her non-apologetic political commentary seems geared toward attacking Candace Owens and the conspiracist camp in the current TPUSA fratricide.
Peale, btw, officiated at Trump’s first wedding (to Ivana).
I would read into the record that Trump was nowhere near elected office at any point during Peale's lifetime, though I'd wager a guess that Peale would have at least approved of Trump's political ascension.
Other than that, there's the old Stevenson quip, which I'll concede might've sounded clever and snappy upon deliverance, but I can't really bring myself to type out now.
I thought exactly that too!