At the recent Republican midterm “convention” President Donald Trump promised to pay all American adults $5,000 if Republicans retain control of Congress after November’s elections. Any reader who believes that this is a serious promise should contact me immediately; I can make a very reasonable offer to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.

Trump obviously was not promising to pay this money out of his own pocket. In fact, giving around 270 million American adults $5,000 would cost about $1.35 trillion (with a T!), which even the rich Trump does not have.

So the money would have to come from the US Treasury, which is funded by taxpayers. It would be about one-fifth of the total current annual budget. And to add more than a trillion dollars to an already horrible $2 trillion annual deficit would be extremely irresponsible.

One would hope that even a Republican Congress wouldn’t vote for such a crazy bill. So like the many contractors and other creditors that real-estate mogul Donald Trump has stiffed, Americans who count on receiving the $5,000 will be disappointed.

It would be wonderful if he would employ such big time creativity instead to promote the general welfare of Americans.

Trump’s offer is just one more indication of how worried he is that Republicans are going to lose the November elections big time. His efforts to prevent Democrats from voting—also based on his fears about the coming elections—are not going well in the courts, so why not try bribing voters with their own money?

I suppose a certain number of Americans will fall for Trump’s obviously desperate promise. As showman P.T. Barnum supposedly once said with regard to suckers, “There’s one born every minute.” (And this was when the population was smaller.)

But nobody who is familiar with Trump’s casual approach to truth will swallow this promise. After all, he is now telling people that gasoline prices will fall below $2 a gallon.. after the election. That the war in Iran will end immediately... the day after the election. That all sorts of wonderful things will happen...........

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