US President Donald Trump said he would offer every adult American a $5,000 (£3,700) payment if Republicans win both houses of Congress in November’s midterm elections – a plan that would cost more than a trillion dollars.
The controversial proposal was made in a speech at the first party convention in the middle of the US presidency.
He did not provide details about how the plan would work or where the money would come from, other than to say that the money would have to be spent in the United States.
Democrats quickly called it an “empty promise” and others questioned the legality of such a promise.
There are nearly 270 million American adults in America, meaning a $5,000 payment would cost the US government approximately $1.3 trillion.
Questions have begun to be asked about whether his plan is feasible, especially as prices in the US rise, partly due to the fallout from the war the US and Israel launched with Iran in February.
Iran’s response included attacks on U.S. and allied bases in the Persian Gulf, but crucially it largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed.
The lockdown caused oil prices to fluctuate around the world and Trump faced pressure from his own party to end the war.
The US president warned his supporters on Wednesday that the war will not end until after the midterm elections and that oil prices will not fall until then.
He made the comments ahead of his speech in Texas, repeating them at the convention, where he said the short-term economic pain was worth it to stop Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.