Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has a bone to pick with President Donald Trump, and it's about the $5,000 checks he keeps promising Americans. On Monday, she accused him of "bribing" voters with the payments, arguing the plan directly contradicts the debt reduction and anti-socialism pledges he ran on.

Calls Trump Dividend a Socialist Scheme

In a post on X, Greene said the payments, which hinge on a Republican win, amount to a socialist scheme that would add $1.35 trillion to the debt.

"Americans voted for Trump to stop socialism, reduce the debt, and end corruption, among a few other things."

The national debt has climbed to $40.39 trillion, up from $36.2 trillion at the start of Trump's second term in January 2025.

Trump Ties Payments to Midterm Win

Greene's post was in response to a video in which Trump reiterated to voters that he would give all adult citizens $5,000, saying Democratic policies "won't allow this to happen" and would instead "raise your taxes."

Trump first promised the dividend at a Republican convention in Dallas last month.

On Trump's video, X's community notes feature pointed out two unmaterialized fiscal pledges by Trump, such as his earlier calls for a $5,000 'DOGE dividend' and a $2,000 'tariff rebate.'

However, the administration has not released a funding plan, though Vice President JD Vance has suggested the benefit could draw on tariff revenue and might exclude wealthy Americans.

Investor Peter Schiff said on Sunday that if the dividend payments were to be enacted, they would become the third-largest federal expenditure, with interest on the debt rising to number one.

Trump Promises to Defeat Socialism

In a government-funded advertisement that began airing in September, Trump promised to defeat "communism, socialism, and Marxism in America."

Robert Wolf, a former economic adviser to President Barack Obama, called Trump "the most powerful socialist in the country today."

SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci said last week that Trump will be responsible for 42% of all national debt when he leaves office, while investor Jason Calacanis projected in July more than $9 trillion in additional borrowing during Trump's second term.

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