Old Trump post about Obama using handouts to buy election spreads online after $5K ‘dividend’ promise

In early September 2026, people shared an alleged screenshot of an X post from the platform’s Twitter era purportedly showing U.S. President Donald Trump posting on his @realDonaldTrump account, “Don’t let Obama buy the election by handing out unlimited free money to states.”

Users shared the image after Trump’s pledge to give $5,000 to every U.S. adult should the Republican Party win the 2026 midterm elections. The president announced the pledge during the GOP midterm convention in Dallas on Sept. 10, calling the payments a “Trump dividend.”

The screenshot of the alleged tweet spread on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and other platforms.

(Thomas Mohr accessed via Bluesky)

Some users drew direct comparisons between Trump’s alleged remark in 2012 and the news of his $5,000 pledge. Others referred to the “dividend” as bribery and socialism.

(@mandyarthur accessed via X)

In sum, the 2012 Trump post is real. He tweeted (archived) it on Oct. 30 of that year, one week before the Nov. 6 elections.

Don’t let Obama buy the election by handing out unlimited free money to states.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2012

Snopes emailed the White House for its response to users comparing the 2012 post to the “Trump dividend.” We will update this article if we receive further information.

The 2012 elections concluded with former President Barack Obama winning a second term. The Democratic Party picked up two seats to continue maintaining a majority in the Senate. Republicans lost eight House seats but continued their control of the legislative chamber.

For further reading, we previously published a collection of 24 things Trump actually posted on Truth Social, including, for example, an Easter Sunday post threatening Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or be “living in hell,” as well as a Memorial Day message addressing “scum” that spent years “trying to destroy our country.”

Sources