I Tried To Find Out What Republicans Think of Trump’s $5,000 Checks. Then I Got Trapped.

DALLAS—How did Republicans at the GOP midterm convention feel about President Donald Trump’s offer to send every American adult a $5,000 check? I tried to find out.

I got very far and also basically nowhere.

That’s because, upon descending to the floor of the convention—where journalists were typically given access in 15-minute increments to interview attendees—a couple of us were lumped in with the photographer escort. We did not know what that entailed. In practice, it meant we were herded to the front and placed as close as possible to the stage: on the (literal) floor, up against the plexiglass, for Vice President J.D. Vance and President Donald Trump’s speeches. It was some of the very best access the convention could provide. It also meant we couldn’t use it, because we were told not to move or talk to anyone. (“Don’t look at anyone too hard either,” someone joked as we were led onto the floor.)

During the interlude between Donald Trump Jr. and Vance, a couple of us tried anyway. “I think [the $5,000 proposal] is going to encourage a lot of people that may not have been going to go to the polls to get out and vote, and they’re going to vote Republican,” Anya Tynio, a Republican who has run for Congress several times in Vermont, told me. “Five thousand dollars helps a lot of people with a lot of things. It buys groceries. It pays bills.” Does that mean Republicans would be fighting socialism—which loomed large over the event—with a similar tactic? “I think that socialism requires you to be dependent on government full-time, all the time,” she said. “This is the government paying us back. So it’s a much different concept.”

A few feet away, I met Teresa Altemus, the first woman to serve on the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors in Virginia. “I know some people that could probably use [$5,000],” she says. “But then, on the other hand, you’ve got some Republicans that feel that it needs to go toward the national debt.” Where does she fall on that? “I think it should go to the national debt,” she responds. 

The organizers told us to stop talking to people. The only other time I left my spot on the red carpet, where I was firmly planted like a little ficus, was when a man rushed down the stairs to my left, yelling and waving a Palestine-Mexico flag, an economical two-for-one protest. “Well, my friend, if you love Mexico so much,” Vance shot back, “get your ass over there.” As he was chased out, the protester threw the flag into my hands, after which The Free Press‘ Audrey Fahlberg promptly and wisely instructed me to “DROP IT.” Is this the opposite of catching the bridal bouquet? Does this mean I’m getting deported?

Not yet, dear reader. Back to my seat on the carpet I went, my access once again restrained to watching the men directly in front of me. Vance introduced the singer Lee Greenwood, who then introduced the president, as he had on night one. The dopamine surge triggered in Trump by “God Bless the USA” should be carefully studied.

Trump then played his own greatest hits: Democrats bring death and misery. Pass the SAVE America Act. Vote for Ken Paxton even though I don’t like how he looks. This arena is the fullest arena there ever was, there has never been a fuller arena. Down with the communists. Raise your right hand and pledge to vote in November. We will Make America Great Again. The operatic tenor Christopher Macchio graced the stage and closed the show in the most Trumpian way: with virile renditions of “God Bless America,” “Nessun Dorma,” and “All I Ask of You.” A diverse palette. The president loves a good performance.

Macchio’s bright squillo filled the hall. Balloons rained down and people cheered in a standing ovation. The mood was electric. I’m still not sure what many onlookers thought of the $5,000. But that may have been the wrong question to begin with.