2026 US Elections: Trump Promises Americans Over $5,000 in Exchange for a Republican Victory

US President Donald Trump has promised to arrange payments of more than $5,000 to every adult American if the Republican Party wins the midterm elections to the House of Representatives and the Senate. According to Der Spiegel, such payments would cost the US government more than $1 trillion and are politically and financially unrealistic.

Restrictions on voting by mail

The publication also describes other steps by Trump aimed at influencing the midterm elections to Congress. At the end of March, he ordered stricter rules for sending election documents for voting by mail. Several Democratic-run states challenged the decision, and the US Supreme Court temporarily blocked the plan.

Trump has repeatedly called voting by mail vulnerable to fraud. Der Spiegel notes that there is no evidence to support these claims. In a July address to the nation, the president also spoke of threats of hacking, manipulation and corruption involving voting machines, as well as attempts by China and other countries to interfere in the elections. According to the publication, the documents cited by Trump do not substantiate his accusations.

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Redrawing district boundaries

Another tool cited in the article is gerrymandering — changing electoral district boundaries to gain a party advantage. As an example, Der Spiegel cites Texas's 32nd district in Dallas, which was won by Democrats in 2024. Before the midterm elections, it was divided and combined with rural areas more favorable to Trump, which, according to forecasts, gives Republicans a clear advantage.

At the same time, in Missouri, the state supreme court rejected a new district map proposed by Republicans. The publication notes that Democrats also resort to gerrymandering.