Trump Says His Promised $5,000 Covers a Burger at Mar-a-Lago

President Donald Trump joked about what $5,000 would buy at his Florida club.

Trump has pledged to send $5,000 to every adult citizen if Republicans win both the House and the Senate, with the money required to be spent in the U.S. Speaking at a rally in Texas on Tuesday, he said the cash would not go far at Mar-a-Lago. "The problem is that for $5,000, the most you'll be able to buy is a hamburger and maybe a small dessert," Trump said. He added, "I'm not even sure you could buy that."

Cost of living is the dominant issue heading into the Nov. 3 vote. An AP-NORC poll conducted earlier this month found 84% of U.S. adults named it among the most important issues deciding their vote, and 79% disapproved of Trump's handling of it. Polls broadly show Democrats favored in the national popular vote for the House, with competitive races in several red-state Senate contests that will decide control of the chamber.

Some economists have warned the one-time payment would do little to ease affordability pressures and could push inflation higher at a time when prices for gasoline and groceries already weigh on households. Sending $5,000 to every adult citizen would cost roughly $1.2 trillion and would require Congressional approval.

Trump has made cash payment promises before that did not arrive. Less than two months before the 2020 election, he pledged 33 million Medicare beneficiaries $200 prescription-drug cards "in coming weeks." The cards were never sent.

Former President Barack Obama criticized Trump's White House renovation at an Ohio rally last week, saying Trump had "got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory" and adding, "there's gold everywhere." Trump defended the work on Monday and blamed Obama for not addressing repairs. "You don't see dirt. He doesn't see filth. He doesn't see broken ornaments on a building," Trump said. "And for you to say it's a Cheesecake Factory, that just shows why you were a lousy president."