Jim Cornette accused Donald Trump of trying to buy votes by promising money and financial benefits if Republicans win Tuesday’s midterm elections.
On episode 657 of The Jim Cornette Experience, released on Tuesday, Cornette talked about the campaign with Brian Last and slammed Trump for tying government decisions to the election results. Cornette said independent voters are not happy with Trump and that some Republican politicians have started to distance themselves from him.
“He’s trying to bribe people now,” Cornette said. “Well, you’ll get $5,000 if the Republicans win, but if Democrats win, you won’t.”
Cornette questioned the promises made to service members and families affected by contaminated water at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. He thinks the government should settle their claims no matter which party wins control of Congress.
Cornette accused Republicans of trying to interfere in the elections through changes to district lines, restrictions on voting by mail, and allegations of illegal voting by immigrants. Those were Cornette’s opinions, not the result of an investigation.
On the same episode, Cornette brought up Butch Reed to knock Trump’s message. Cornette said he thinks Trump has made so many promises that a portion of voters don’t believe them anymore.
Trump made the $5,000 promise on September 9 at a Republican convention in Dallas, Texas. He said American adults would be paid what he called the Trump Dividend if his party kept control of the House and Senate. He didn’t go into detail on how he would pay for it.
On Camp Lejeune, Trump told a rally in Greenville on October 20 that he would direct the Justice Department to settle the pending cases if Republicans won.
The Associated Press put out a report on Friday that looked at other times Trump tied federal benefits to Republican wins. The White House defended Trump’s efforts to keep Republicans in control of Congress.
But there is a legal debate over whether those promises count as bribery. PolitiFact spoke to experts who said paying out $5,000 probably would not count as illegal vote buying, because people would get it no matter how they voted.