There is no better reflection of the purely transactional nature of Donald Trump’s politics than his love for buying Americans’ affections with cold hard cash. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was the country’s most avid fan of “stimulus checks” — or at least ones bearing his signature — and now in his second term, he has repeatedly tried to purchase popularity with promises of direct payments to taxpayers. This generosity with the public Treasury, of course, goes against generations of Republican orthodoxy about the evils of fiscal waste and the threat government largesse poses to self-sufficiency and moral rigor, but that doesn’t matter to someone like Trump.

Trump’s desire to play Santa Claus with other people’s money has intensified as the 2026 midterms grow nearer.

. $1,776 for service members

Last December, he announced he was repurposing military housing-allowance money into $1,776 (get it?) “warrior dividend” checks for active-duty and Reserve military members. The message: Merry Christmas, war fighters — be sure to remember this when you vote!

. $5,000 if the GOP wins the midterms

As the midterms turned into more or less a national referendum on rising living costs and the affordability of items like gas, groceries,........

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