Steve Kerr cracks a joke about Donald Trump after midterm results.

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr ended his routine media availability Wednesday with a joke about President Donald Trump's unfulfilled campaign promise.

"What, no questions on the election?" Kerr said.

"I'm surprised."

"I'm disappointed, because I was looking forward to that $5,000 check that we were all gonna get," he added, per the California Post's Evan Webeck.

Kerr then said he had already spent the money.

"I have to figure something out," he said.

The joke referred to a specific pledge Trump made in the days before the 2026 midterm elections.

Trump ran an ad promising Americans a $5,000 check if Republicans kept control of Congress.

He first announced the proposal in September at the GOP's midterm convention in Dallas.

He repeated it in his last speech before Election Day, saying the payment would go to every adult citizen if Republicans held the House and Senate.

The pledge was conditional.

The condition was not met.

It was projected that Democrats would take full control of Congress in January after winning both chambers on Tuesday night.

Republicans had entered Election Day with a 53-47 Senate majority and a 219-214 House majority.

Even before the results were in, Fox News host Jesse Watters said on air, "I don't think we're going to get our $5,000 checks."

Kerr's line therefore echoed a joke that was already circulating across the political spectrum.

Kerr is a longtime Trump critic.

He has spoken out repeatedly on issues from gun safety to elections.

In 2024, he endorsed Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention, saying he knew speaking out about politics "comes with risks."

The reaction to his political comments is rarely one-sided.

After his comments following the 2024 election, some critics responded with fury on social media.

One person wrote that Kerr "should be ashamed of himself."

Supporters see an NBA coach who uses a platform to say what he believes.

Critics argue that sports figures should stay out of politics.

That divide shaped the discussion of Wednesday's remark as well.

The joke was also light by Kerr's standards.

He did not name Trump in the quote.

He did not discuss specific policies.

He did not endorse a party.

It touched on a campaign promise that had clearly failed.

Kerr's remark came the day after the 2026 midterm elections, which saw Democrats projected to win control of both the House and the Senate.

President Trump spoke out after the results, though his exact remarks were still being covered by multiple outlets.

The $5,000 check promise had been a centerpiece of Trump's closing argument for Republican voters.

In the ad, Trump told Americans that a Republican-controlled Congress would send them a direct payment.

The proposal was unusual because it tied a direct cash benefit to a specific electoral outcome.

It was not a standard policy proposal from either party.

Once the results came in, the promise became impossible to keep.

Kerr's joke highlighted that reality in a way that resonated across social media.

Clips of his comment spread quickly on Wednesday afternoon.

Some viewers found it funny.

Others saw it as a political jab from a coach who has never hidden his views.

Either way, it became one of the most-shared moments from an NBA media day that otherwise had little to do with politics.