'He Is Copying Us': DK Shivakumar On Trump's $5,000 Promise

After several Indian states, now US President Donald Trump is "copying" the Congress welfare model, claimed Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. The remark came days after Trump promised to give $5,000 to every American adult if the Republican Party keeps control of Congress in this year's midterm elections.

Speaking at an event in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said that Congress's welfare model has been replicated in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar. And now, the US is copying it.

"Maharashtra copied us. Madhya Pradesh copied us. Rajasthan copied. Bihar copied. Now Trump is copying us! Trump" he exclaimed. "Did you see that? $5,000. How much? $5,000! Now, who is putting a copy out there? Trump is saying that if voted, he will give this many dollars. That means our thinking is being introduced not just to India, but to the entire world. This is the strength of the Congress party," Shivakumar said.

Trump Dividend

Last week, on September 9, during a speech at the Republican Party convention, Trump shared the idea of $5,000 payouts.

"If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000," Trump said during the GOP's midterm convention in Dallas. "It will be called the Trump Dividend."

Trump on Sunday said the US can afford his promise.

"I don't know but it's easy if the Republicans win. $5,000 to all adults in the country and we can easily handle that because we're taking in so much money," Trump told reporters when asked if Congress would need to approve the payments, adding that trillions of dollars were coming into the country.

Any such payment would need to be approved by Congress, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said on Sunday. "Of course, the devil's in the details. We have to figure all that out," Johnson told CNN's "State of the Union."