Trump Offers Cash for GOP Wins and Bans Media Outlets

President Donald Trump offered to pay every adult U.S. citizen $5,000 if Republicans maintain majorities in the House and Senate during the 2026 midterm elections. He also threatened to withhold disaster aid from North Carolina if the state elects a Democratic senator, though he later characterized the threat as a joke.

Trump further alleged that the 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, was a "Democrat Plot." This claim was contradicted by FBI Director Kash Patel, who testified that there was no evidence of such a conspiracy. To pressure the Federal Reserve into lowering interest rates, Trump threatened to halt foreign trade with any country where the U.S. maintains a trade deficit.

In a series of restrictions on press access, Trump banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House on Friday. These actions led to the seizure of a CNN reporter's press pass on Saturday morning. Additionally, the president is attempting to rename the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.