Trump: "Don't Spend the $5,000 Dividend in South Korea, China or Japan"

Pledges $5,000 per Adult, Emphasizes Spending in the U.S.

With the midterm elections set for November 3 (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to pay a “$5,000 dividend per adult” and has repeatedly stressed that the money must be spent in the United States, not overseas in countries such as South Korea, China or Japan.

U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House

At a rally in Florida on October 30 (local time), President Trump said he would pay a dividend of $5,000 (about 6.7 million won) if Republicans gained control of both the House and the Senate, adding that it was “something only Republicans can deliver.”

He said the total cost of the “Trump dividend” would be about $1 trillion, but that the United States had generated $25 trillion in wealth through policies such as tariffs, adding, “When you think about it, it’s not that much money.”

However, he stressed that the sole condition for receiving the dividend was that it be spent only in the United States.

Hypothetically describing a couple each receiving $5,000, for a total of $10,000, President Trump said they should not tell each other, “We have $10,000, so let’s go spend it in China. Let’s go to Japan. Let’s go to South Korea.”

He added that they should not say, “Let’s go somewhere very romantic. Let’s go to France,” reiterating that the dividend could not be spent overseas.

The idea appears to be to keep the dividend from flowing overseas and instead have it spent in the United States, creating a virtuous cycle in the domestic economy.

At a rally in Montana on October 14, President Trump also said of the “Trump dividend,” “I don’t want you to say, ‘We have $5,000, so let’s go spend it in China. Let’s travel to Japan or South Korea. Let’s go to South America, too.’”

He added, “That money has to be spent in the United States,” explaining, “This is also called ‘recycling’ or ‘recirculating,’ and it can be called many different things. This is how we make you rich and make our country great.”

President Trump first unveiled the dividend proposal in his keynote speech at the Republican National Convention ahead of the midterm elections, held in Dallas, Texas, in September.

Democrats sharply criticized the proposal as a giveaway aimed at winning voters’ support, while U.S. media raised concerns about potential consequences, including the massive funding burden, worsening inflation and growing national debt.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.