Trump keeps promising $5,000 checks. Here is what it would take

President Donald Trump is closing out the midterm campaign with a recurring promise: $5,000 for Americans if Republicans keep control of both the House and the Senate on Nov. 3. He repeated it at a rally in Greenville, N.C., on Tuesday, WRAL News reported.

Trump first made the pledge on Sept. 9 at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas, calling it the "Trump dividend," PBS News reported.

The cost

Trump has acknowledged the payments would cost more than $1 trillion, The Associated Press reported. PBS estimated about $1.2 trillion, based on roughly 245 million adult U.S. citizens.

Who would pay

The White House says the money would come from trade deals, foreign investment commitments, government stakes in private companies, and oil and mineral deals, according to the AP. Vice President JD Vance earlier told Fox News some funds would come from tariff revenue, PBS reported.

Any payment would need Congress. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, has said he would introduce a bill after the election.

Doubts

Earlier promised payments, including $2,000 tariff dividends and refunds tied to Department of Government Efficiency savings, never arrived, both outlets noted. When the AP asked whether the administration had modeled the economic effects, White House economic adviser Christopher Phelan declined to answer.

In an AP-NORC poll in September, about half of registered voters said Trump does not keep his promises.

Meanwhile, the administration is sending smaller sums before the election: $90 to about 20 million Medicare enrollees and $500 "rebates" for people it says overpaid for Affordable Care Act plans, the AP reported.