President Donald Trump has championed his tariff policy as a success despite little data or official accounting that shows the United States is flush with cash as a result. Earlier this month, President Trump said that he wants to pay out tariff dividend or rebate checks of up to $2,000 per person, save for the rich, but won’t do so until next year.
On November 9, Trump took to his Truth Social network to lash out at critics of the tariff policy and to make the promise of “dividend” payments to middle-class and low-income families.
“People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS!” Trump began. “We are taking in Trillions of Dollars and will soon begin paying down our ENORMOUS DEBT, $37 Trillion. Record Investment in the USA, plants and factories going up all over the place. A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.”
This comes after a debunked post claimed that checks would be going out in phases between November 10 through November 30, just in time for the holiday shopping season. However, it appears that Americans banking on the payment will need to wait until next year.
On Friday (November 14), from Air Force One heading to Mar-a-Lago, Trump clarified that the payouts will happen next year, but a final date wasn’t given.
“It will be next year. The tariffs allow us to give a dividend. We’re going to do a dividend and we’re also going to be reducing debt,” according to the New York Post.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent offered a dose of reality over the weekend during an appearance on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures program.
“We will see,” Bessent said of the proposed payouts, “We need legislation for that.”
Although a rollback of tariff policies seems highly unlikely, considering Trump’s fondness for the practice, the Supreme Court is currently reviewing whether the president’s emergency powers to enact tariffs are constitutional.
If the Supreme Court does rule the practice unconstitutional, the revenue stream for the so-called dividends would be eliminated. Trump vowed that he would “have to do something else” if the high court made the ruling to strike down the policy.
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Photo: Getty
