With less than one month until the midterm elections, President Donald Trump keeps trying to find ways to directly benefit voters to ease affordability concerns at the heart of the midterm elections.
Last week, Trump began sending $500 checks to nearly 1 million Americans in 30 states as a refund for Affordable Care Act fees he said were overcharged under President Joe Biden, along with a letter touting his record.
Two days later, he announced plans to send $90 payments to more than 20 million seniors. The checks were intended to offset October Medicare premiums, Trump wrote in an email accompanying the payments that listed the administration’s other health care policies.
But the proposals haven’t been limited to checks. On Monday, Trump signed an executive order onstage at a rally in Nebraska that expanded the availability of tax-free dyed diesel, which is typically limited to off-road use on farms and construction sites. The average cost of diesel in the United States is now $6.27 per gallon, according to AAA, nearly twice the cost of a year ago, driven up by fuel disruptions due to the Iran war.
“Pete and Jim, this should absolutely ensure your election, I guarantee you that,” Trump said after signing the order, referring to Sen. Pete Ricketts (Nebraska) and Gov. Jim Pillen, both Republican incumbents running for reelection.
Trump also floated the idea of banning diesel exports as another way to bring down prices, but backed off of the idea after pushback from Energy Secretary Chris Wright and an announcement from the Group of Seven countries that they would release 100 million barrels of diesel reserves. On Friday, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to release 300,000 tons of diesel fuel this month and another 500,000 tons next month, with more to follow.
The economy has consistently ranked as the top issue for voters in the midterm elections as Democratic motivation to vote remains relatively high and Trump’s popularity remains low, according to recent polling from the Pew Research Center.
“The president wants to win, and he’s trying to, step by step, fix the problems that have caused Republicans problems,” said former House speaker Newt Gingrich.
The moves appealing to voters seem like an attempt to distract from Trump’s dismissal of cost concerns and to “try to buy votes,” said Tim Burga, president of the Ohio AFL-CIO. “It reeks of desperation.”
Now Republicans are asking for voters to give them two more years of control of Congress. “It doesn’t work when you’ve broken the trust of the American people and you have completely discounted the fact that the affordability crisis is even a thing,” Burga said.
Trump has a long track record of backing efforts to send direct payments to voters, from first-term covid-19 pandemic stimulus checks to proposed DOGE and tariff dividends and a $1,776 “warrior dividend” bonus for service members. In September, Trump floated the idea of cutting $5,000 checks to every adult if they vote in Republicans, but few lawmakers have mentioned the idea on the campaign trail.
“When you talk about generic tax cuts, voters don’t always know how it’s going to impact them,” said Alex Conant, a national Republican political strategist. “When you make concrete promises about checks in the mail, it’s easier to imagine how it could help your situation.”
Trump’s recent efforts create something for his base “to grab on to,” Conant added, as Trump embarks on a tour of Republican strongholds to turn out conservative voters.
But it’s unclear whether it will be enough to ease frustrations with price pressures that haven’t abated under Trump, said Barrett Marson, a GOP strategist in Arizona.
“MAGA people are disenchanted, independents are furious, and middle Republicans are wondering when the tariffs and the war will be over so that we can have interest rates below 6 percent and gas at $3 and the price of everyday items coming down,” Marson said, adding that voters in Arizona are feeling like “Trump pulled a bit of a bait and switch.”
Trump’s policies have improved the economy and will continue to do so over the next two years, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement.
“The President has delivered tangible wins for American families: he signed the largest working-class tax cuts in history, cut the cost of prescription drugs, distributed $90 Medicare checks and $500 Obamacare refund checks, added more than one million private-sector jobs, locked in nearly 20 trade deals that put American workers first, and sent 401(k)s to record highs,” Rogers said, adding that Democrats support socialist candidates who would drive up costs and deficits.
The president’s economic advisers have also suggested he should suspend the federal gas tax writ large, which would strip off 18 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24 cents per gallon for diesel fuel and would typically require an act of Congress.
“It would be a good way of providing some relief at the pump, said Stephen Moore, a conservative economist who has advised Trump.
Moore said he’s urged the president to suspend the gas tax until prices return to less than $3.75 per gallon. He added that he believes it could be possible without help from Congress — which is out of Washington campaigning throughout October — by asserting a temporary emergency.
Another option, Moore added, would be to suspend refinery requirements to incorporate certain levels of biofuel like ethanol into gasoline, which refiners argue increases gas prices by driving up operating costs. He noted that it would take a few weeks for consumers to feel the effects — perhaps too tight of a turnaround with only 24 days until the midterms.
Last month, Trump also pledged $5,000 checks to American adults if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate. Even some of the president’s allies have acknowledged that is unlikely, given pushback from Republicans in Congress concerned about the deficit.
On Wednesday, Trump was asked to respond to people who are suggesting he is “throwing money at people” ahead of the election to entice Republican voters.
“What we’re doing is we have tremendous growth,” Trump responded while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, arguing that tariffs have spurred economic growth, though experts say tariffs will have a negative impact on long-run gross domestic product. “We’re able to do things that the Democrats can’t.”
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