Trump Offers $1 Million Voter Fraud Bounty
Happy Monday! After weekend campaign stops in battleground states Georgia and Michigan, President Trump is heading down to Mississippi, a deep-red state that he won by more than 20 percentage points in 2024. Incumbent GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith now faces an unexpectedly close re-election contest from Democratic challenger Scott Colom. Democrats hope they can pull off the upset and win a Senate race in the Magnolia State for the first time since 1982.
Here's what else we're watching.
Trump Offers $1 Million Voter Fraud Bounty
President Trump today pledged to provide a $1 million payout to anyone who reports voter fraud that results in an arrest and conviction.
"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," Trump wrote on his social media site.
The move comes amid concern that Trump is laying the groundwork to claim that the midterm elections were rigged against him and Republicans. Trump already directed the Department of Justice to file a lawsuit seeking to block certification of the Senate race in Alaska if incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses a contest in which another Republican candidate named Daniel J. Sullivan also appears on the ballot. Legal experts say that the lawsuit has no chance of succeeding, but it could cast a cloud over the election results.
Promises and payouts: Last week, Trump and Vice President JD Vance announced a $25 million whistleblower program to reward anyone who reports fraud in the U.S. government. The White House said that tipsters whose reports lead to successful enforcement actions could receive up to $30,000, though the president suggested that the payments could be a 1% commission on the amount of fraud uncovered.
As he tries to sway voters, Trump has also offered $5,000 payouts to American adults if Republicans retain control of Congress in the November midterms, and he introduced $90 rebates for more than 20 million Medicare beneficiaries and $500 refunds for certain Affordable Care Act enrollees.
Number of the Day: $3.472
The average price of a gallon of gasoline is now higher during President Trump's second term in office than it was during the Biden administration, according to data released by AAA on Monday.
The average price under Biden was $3.471, while the average price since Trump reentered the White House in January 2025 is currently $3.472. The difference is tiny but promises to grow as more days with relatively high prices enter the calculation. The current average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $4.29 a gallon; a year ago, it was $3.05.
Driven by the war in Iran, the surge in fuel prices has come as a painful surprise to many Americans, including supporters of Trump, who blamed his predecessor for high gas prices while promising to slash them below $2. "It's pretty astonishing," Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told CNN. "I don't think anyone would have predicted this 10 months ago."
Even some of Trump's most vocal defenders have expressed frustration about Trump's decision to attack Iran. "People hate paying more money for gas, and the prices have gone up a lot," said Stephen Moore, a former Trump adviser, per the Associated Press. "It's frustrating because Trump's done so many good things for the economy. But with the Iran situation, that's really had a big effect on the economy, and Republicans may pay a high price for that."
Quote of the Day: Trump's Rally Remark
"The United States oil and gas business is making hundreds of billions of dollars. ... So we're making hundreds and hundreds of billions, trillions of dollars. But my people said, 'Please don't mention that, sir.' Because people are paying a little higher. ... So I said, 'Let me say it very gingerly, very softly,' because somebody would say, the fake news, 'He's bragging about making money while people are suffering at the -.' You know, because, you know, you're still paying lower than Biden and Obama and they don't have nuclear weapons. But they're gonna be coming. No, I could just see the fake headlines. 'President Trump is talking about all the money they're making while people are suffering at the pump.' That'll be the headline. But I said, 'I don't give a damn. I'm gonna say it. We're making a freaking fortune.'"
− President Trump, at a Saturday rally in Perry, Georgia, boasting about the profits of U.S. oil and gas businesses. Trump said that gas prices would fall quickly after the war with Iran is resolved, but he touted the gains being made by American companies in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana as the reduced traffic and increased risks in the Strait of Hormuz have forced buyers to look elsewhere.
With the average price of a gallon of gas now at $4.29, according to AAA, Democrats pounced on Trump's remarks.
The president sparked another media storm on Sunday at an event in Port Huron, Michigan, when he again commented on Sen. Jon Husted's rear end and then remarked on the backside of one of his celebrity supporters at the rally: "By the way, I looked at one hell of a beautiful ass before, Nicki Minaj. That, that's hard to miss. That's stand out, Nicki. That's hard to miss."
Fiscal News Roundup
- Trump Offers $1 Million for Voter Fraud Tips as Midterms Loom – CNN
- Trump Heads to Mississippi for a Midterm Rally, and the Democrat He Wants Defeated Is Going, Too – Associated Press
- House Republicans Set Leadership Elections – Politico
- Republicans Struggle for an Answer to Democrats' Medicaid Attacks – The Hill
- Jeffries Edges Closer to Hegseth Impeachment as He Eyes the Gavel – Politico
- Massie Says He'll Move to Impeach Hegseth if He's Not Gone After Midterms – The Hill
- Thune Scrambles to Save His Senate Majority as Voters Voice Concern Over the Iran War and Gas Prices – Associated Press
- Pentagon Presses Congress to Keep Measure Changing Name to 'Department of War' – The Hill
- Health Care Shakes Up the Iowa Election – Politico
- Ken Paxton's State-Funded Jet-Setting Draws Campaign Scrutiny – New York Times
- Wyden Unveils Plan to Raise Taxes on Data Centers – Politico
- Gasoline Prices Under Trump Surpass Biden-Era Average – Bloomberg
- The Trump Administration Moves to Treat Millions of Mentally Ill Veterans With Psychedelics – Politico
- Anthropic Files for Potentially the Biggest IPO Ever as CEO Warns of Risk to Humanity From AI – Associated Press
Views and Analysis
- Trump Failed to Stop Inflation. Now Republicans May Pay the Price in the Midterm Elections – Jill Colvin and Josh Boak, Associated Press
- Brace Yourself, GOP. Trump's Iran War and Tariffs Are Going to Sting – Max Boot, Washington Post
- In His Own Words: Trump on Gas Prices and Energy Costs Since Launching the War With Iran – Associated Press
- As Trump Brags About U.S. Oil and Gas Company Profits, His Stocks Gained Millions During Iran War – Kathryn Watson, CBS News
- Democrats See a Rare but Fleeting Chance to Shake Up the Senate Map – Carl Hulse, New York Times
- Bernie Sanders Could Soon Get a Powerful Perch to Help Shape 2028 – Jordain Carney, Politico
- The Midterms Are Next Week. Here's Who We Think Will Win – New York Times Opinion Contributors
- Democrats Face a Big Question on Electric Vehicles – Pavan Acharya, Politico
- These Republicans Could Help the GOP by Losing – Gerard Baker, Wall Street Journal
- Why the Fed Is Expected to Hold Rates Steady Despite a Case for Raising Them – Nick Timiraos, Wall Street Journal
- California's Wealth Tax and the French Economist – Wall Street Journal Editorial Board
- Social Security is Now Less Than Six Years from Insolvency – Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
- This Consumer Watchdog Should Be a Normal Agency – Bloomberg Editorial Board