Trump announces ninety dollar senior payments

President Donald Trump announced a plan to send ninety dollar payments to more than twenty million Americans aged sixty five and older, drawing from the Medicare Improvement Fund.

Money was already earmarked elsewhere

Trump described the payments as lowering costs for seniors, but the single nonrecurring payment was reportedly already earmarked for other programs before Trump redirected it this month.

“substantially LOWER costs for our Seniors”

Facing midterm disaster, Trump seeks voters

Trump, facing a potentially catastrophic midterms for his party, has been looking for ways to turn out Republican voters by offering them cash, either implicitly or explicitly, in return for support.

Trump promises five thousand dollar checks

Beyond the ninety dollar Medicare payments and smaller five hundred dollar Affordable Care Act refunds to fewer than one million people, Trump is explicitly promising Americans five thousand dollars if they reelect Republicans.

Trump links payments to promised dividend

Trump directly connected the Medicare payments to the promised checks, writing that voters can rest assured the highly popular five thousand dollar Trump Dividend will be distributed if Republicans win the midterm elections.

“Because I delivered on this very important issue for the American People, they can also rest assured the highly popular $5,000 Trump Dividend will be distributed to every U.S. Citizen if, and when, the Republicans win the Midterm Elections!”

Voters skeptical of payments and promises

Polling suggests voters are not fans of the promised five thousand dollar checks, and even fewer believe they will happen. The Medicare payments are relatively small and ACA refunds reach few voters.