Donald Trump Is Promising To Give Voters Free Stuff
Donald Trump is pledging to introduce policies aimed at boosting voters’ financial well-being if he wins the presidency in November.
However, he’s provided limited information on how he intends to fund these initiatives. These promises mark a significant departure from the traditional Republican focus on fiscal responsibility and limiting government size.
Last week, Trump made a bold announcement, promising that if he’s elected president again, the government would cover the costs of fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization (IVF). These treatments can cost tens of thousands of dollars per cycle, putting them out of reach for many families.
He also proposed eliminating taxes on workers’ tips and Social Security benefits, moves that nonpartisan experts warn could add hundreds of billions of dollars to the federal deficit. So far, his campaign hasn’t explained how he plans to fund these initiatives.
In addition to these promises, Trump aims to extend key parts of his 2017 tax cuts and slash corporate taxes even further. According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, these proposals combined would increase the deficit by almost $6 trillion over the next decade.
Trump’s approach echoes a strategy that Utah Sen. Mitt Romney once criticized as offering voters “gifts.” The shift in rhetoric and policy marks a dramatic change for the Republican Party.
Once known for promoting fiscal responsibility—despite the national debt ballooning under the last two GOP administrations—the party now seems focused on winning over voters by any means necessary, even at the cost of a growing deficit.
Trump’s tendency to make big campaign promises isn’t surprising. Back in 2016, he vowed to construct hundreds of miles of wall along the southern U.S. border and insisted Mexico would foot the bill.
In reality, Mexico didn’t pay; it was the U.S. government that covered the costs for the portions of the wall that were built. He also promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with a “much better” healthcare plan, but that never materialized either.
What stands out about Donald Trump’s second campaign for the White House is his attempt to court two key groups that typically lean Democratic: women who are wary of his position on abortion and working-class Black and Latino voters.
A notable example of this shift came when Vice President Kamala Harris quickly backed a proposal to eliminate taxes on tips, just after Trump had done so. This move recognized the idea’s appeal to union workers in Nevada and other states.
“Trump doesn’t have deep roots in policy that come from years of working with conservative leaders,” said Kevin Madden, a GOP strategist who advised Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, in an interview with HuffPost on Wednesday. “He operates in a more transactional way, approaching voters the same way a real estate agent or salesperson would.”
Madden pointed out that both Harris and Trump face significant pressure to win over the small group of remaining swing voters. “Their approaches aren’t all that different,” he said. “They’re tackling big issues like inflation, housing, and health care by making bold promises that resonate in the polls, even though turning those promises into real legislation could prove difficult.”
Harris has put forward proposals aimed at helping families through more generous child tax credits and earned income tax credits, along with plans to make housing more affordable for Americans. She argues that these investments would boost the economy enough to essentially pay for themselves.
However, since she also backs rolling back parts of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and raising the corporate tax rate, her policy plans are projected to be significantly less costly than her Republican opponent’s, with an estimated price tag of around $1.7 trillion over the next decade.
Regardless of who wins in November, turning campaign promises into actual policy will require working closely with Congress. Lawmakers will need to decide whether to extend Trump’s tax cuts, which expire next year for individuals, and tackle the debt limit. Both tasks are expected to be challenging and will likely involve tough negotiations between Democrats and Republicans.
Over the weekend, some of Trump’s allies in Congress pushed back against his proposal for the government to cover the costs of in vitro fertilization (IVF) or to require insurance companies to provide coverage for the treatment. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) made his stance clear on ABC’s “This Week,” saying he wouldn’t back such a plan. Instead, he suggested offering Americans a means-tested tax credit to help offset the cost of IVF.
At the same time, Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) voiced concerns about the potential strain this kind of policy could place on the federal budget. “There’s always going to be the question of how to pay for it,” Mullin said during an appearance on CNN.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, however, was skeptical that either political party could deliver on their campaign promises to create new government programs without first securing full control of Congress. In a separate CNN interview, Burgum remarked, “Unless one party controls both chambers, there won’t be any mandates or big giveaways from Harris. A lot of this is just election talk and posturing.”
With less than three months until the November election, both campaigns are laser-focused on winning over voters and driving turnout. Rather than diving into the fine details of policy, candidates are zeroing in on agendas aimed at helping cost-conscious voters, particularly as high prices remain a significant concern for many.
“Election promises can be more or less explicit. The more direct they are, the more it can appear like the candidate is trying to buy votes,” said Todd Belt, a professor at George Washington University and director of the political management program.
He added, “Things like ‘lowering the capital gains tax rate’ or ‘lowering the corporate tax rate’ are examples of promises that don’t need a lot of explanation to the people they benefit. Those voters know exactly what these pledges mean, but they tend to fly under the radar for others.”
Whether a campaign proposal is seen as a “gift” depends largely on how obvious it is who stands to gain, according to Belt. “Promises aren’t a new thing, but the way they’re presented can differ.”
Trump and Harris will have a chance to present their campaign ideas more fully during the first presidential debate, hosted by ABC News in Philadelphia on Tuesday.