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Episode details

News,·11 Sep 2026,·34 mins

Will Trump’s $5,000 offer convince US voters?

Available for over a year

President Trump made the pledge at the Republicans' first ever midterm convention, promising every adult American a $5,000 payment if his party wins both chambers of Congress in November. Sarah, who was in the arena in Dallas watching Trump’s speech, and Justin look at whether this is a serious policy or a desperate measure. The payment would cost over a trillion dollars, no detail has been given on how it would work, and federal law restricts payments made in connection with how people vote. JD Vance has suggested it could be paid for by revenue raised from trade tariffs. Trump told supporters to pretend he was on the ballot himself, and said he would campaign in every close race. But with his approval ratings at historic lows, an unpopular war with Iran, and some Republicans on the ballot this year choosing to stay away from the convention, is he now more of a hindrance than a help to his own party? And a year on from the killing of Charlie Kirk, Justin and Sarah discuss his legacy on the American right, and ask whether anyone has emerged to take his place. HOSTS: • Sarah Smith, BBC North America Editor • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email Americast@bbc.co.uk • Or use #Americast This episode was made by George Dabby with Alix Pickles and Nik Sindle. The technical producer was Jonny Hall. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham. The battle for Charlie Kirk’s legacy - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct8lzb If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app. You can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers. US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155 Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including Newscast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below. Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl Top Comment: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001mssm Radical: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd