By Hedelberto López Blanch on September 16, 2026
image: Adano
What convicted U.S. President Donald Trump proposed has just shattered all the electoral frameworks of so-called “capitalist democracy” by publicly offering to give each voter $5,000 if the Republican Party manages to retain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate in the November midterm elections.
Such a bribe completely debunks all the propaganda claiming that the electoral model in Western countries is “democratic.”
Just imagine for a moment the massive media campaign the hegemonic media would unleash if a progressive and nationalist candidate from Brazil, Mexico, Nicaragua, or Cuba—to name a few examples—were to say they would give thousands of pesos to voters who supported them.
Without a moment’s hesitation, the major headlines would lash out at them with epithets like “dictatorship,” “autocracy,” “violation of democracy,” and many others. But in the case at hand, the Western propaganda media have ignored Trump’s serious proposal and, in contrast, have devoted themselves to trying to sugarcoat this clear bribe with speculations about whether the offer is valid or not.
The tycoon presented the so-called “Trump Dividend” during the Republican Midterm Convention held on Thursday, September 11, in Dallas, Texas. With his usual arrogance, he maintained that he does not believe he needs congressional approval to implement the program and asserted that lawmakers would back him should authorization ultimately be required.
The unusual proposal would cost approximately $1.2 trillion, based on the country’s roughly 245 million adult citizens. Economists and tax experts have questioned the idea, at a time when the federal government is running annual deficits of nearly $2 trillion.
U.S. public debt exceeded $40 trillion, equivalent to approximately 123–125% of the country’s GDP. Between October 2025 and July 2026, Washington spent $963 billion on interest alone—a figure even higher than the military’s spending during that period.
In a recent editorial, the Mexican newspaper La Jornada stated: “What is troubling is that, whether or not he fulfills his promise, the very act of offering a direct payment in exchange for his party’s electoral victory amounts to the demolition of whatever remnants of democracy may remain in that nation.” The clearest sign of the deterioration of U.S. institutions is that, at any other time and in any other country, such a statement would be a major scandal that would lead to sanctions and possibly end the political career of the person involved, but in Trump’s Washington, it’s just another day.”
In this regard, the editorial explains that the dismantling of American democracy and the destruction of controls on campaign finance began half a century ago and have intensified with Trump’s arrival in the White House.
In 1976, the Supreme Court ruled that limiting campaign spending violates freedom of speech, and since then, there has been no limit whatsoever on independent spending or on the money a candidate can squander out of their own pocket. In June of this year, it eliminated limits on the amount political parties can spend on advertising and other expenses in coordination with candidates.
Between these two rulings, La Jornada points out, the Supreme Court also allowed unlimited donations from individuals and the use of donated funds for candidates to reimburse themselves for all campaign-related expenses. In other words, a candidate can buy the office with their own money and then raise funds from interested parties by being “friends” with a senator, governor, or president.
Furthermore, any registered nonprofit organization can spend unlimited amounts on elections and keep the identities of its donors confidential. In other words, in the United States, the criminal groups that Washington claims to be fighting have an open door to legally finance a politician, and no one can ask where the money came from.
Abundant capital also flows into these election campaigns—from sources such as the Jewish lobby AIPAC, millionaire businesspeople, and any wealthy organization that needs to support a particular candidate for its own interests and business, regardless of whether that candidate has been corrupt, a drug trafficker, a pedophile, or an embezzler. And if the shoe fits, wear it.
All of this would be considered flagrant corruption in any other country in the world, but not in the United States.
Such are the so-called “capitalist democratic elections”: everything for the powerful, little for the poor. Just another one of the American tycoon’s trademark moves.
Source: Cuba en Resumen