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J.D. Tuccille: Donald Trump's bribe to American voters

His promised $5,000-per-person payout to the nation if the midterms go his way lays bare the flaws of democracy

At last week’s Republican midterm convention, U.S. President Donald Trump promised that “if the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate — both of them.… I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.”

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His pledge combined two dumb notions — vote-buying and tariffs — into one package. True, Trump didn’t invent the idea of purchasing electoral support, nor is protectionism an original idea of his. But the president brings brazen excess to his promotion of the awful combination.

J.D. Tuccille: Donald Trump's bribe to American voters Back to video

The payments are possible, he insisted, “because our country is making so much money.” He added that it would be “very much like a successful company will do a cash distribution to its shareholders.”

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