Trump Dangles $1M Bounty Cash Giveaway in Election Panic
The proposal is the latest in a string of attempts by the president to ply voters with large sums of cash ahead of the midterms.
Umit Bektas/REUTERS
Donald Trump has made another attempt to splash cash at voters ahead of the midterm elections, offering $1 million to anyone who reports cases of “voter fraud” if it leads to a conviction.
With eight days until election day, Trump made the announcement on Monday amid ongoing GOP panic about losing control of Congress at the November 3 election.
President Donald Trump attends a rally at Guardian Centers in Perry, Georgia, October 24, 2026.
Umit Bektas/REUTERS
“Anybody reporting Voter Fraud in the past Elections, or the upcoming 2026 Midterm Election, will be paid $1,000,000 upon the arrest and conviction of those that created the Fraud! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he wrote on Truth Social.
It’s unclear where the promised money would come from or how the scheme would work.
But the bounty is the latest in a string of attempts by Trump to ply voters with large sums of cash ahead of the midterms.
At the GOP’s midterm convention in September, he promised a $ 5,000 cash payment to every adult American citizen if Republicans won control of both the House and Senate, a move immediately branded a bribe for votes.
US President Donald Trump speaks, flanked by JD Vance and others, as announces a whistleblower program to encourage the public to report alleged fraud, at the White House in Washington, DC, US, October 20, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS
Last week, Trump and Vice President JD Vance also announced a $25 million federal whistleblower incentive program to encourage reports of fraud.
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“I will be the arbitrator of all of these decisions,” he declared in the Oval Office, without explaining where the money would come from.
“I’ll determine whether or not the person is deserving and I’ll determine—and I will be very generous, believe me.”
He has also floated a $ 2,000 tariff dividend from his trade wars and a $ 5,000 DOGE dividend proposed by Elon Musk in the early days of his second term.
The bounty was another attempt by the president to sow doubt about the election’s integrity, even as polls showed his record-low approval ratings could drag on the GOP.
According to the latest Ipsos/Reuters poll released on Monday, Trump’s approval now sits at 32 percent.
The same poll also had Democrats leading Republicans by 47 percent to 36 percent among registered voters when asked which party they would support in Congress–an 11-point advantage.
Trump is responding with an intensified campaign blitz in the final stretch.
Congressional candidates who have aligned with Trump, even in solid red states, have also suffered from his unpopularity.
Evan Vucci/Evan Vucci/REUTERS
He flew to traditionally red Mississippi on Monday for another rally. That will be followed by two stops in Texas on Tuesday to bolster embattled Senate candidate Ken Paxton.
He will also attend another rally in Ohio on Wednesday, where MAGA candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has come under fire over a vile attack ad, and Senate candidate Jon Husted is fighting to hold onto his seat.
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