President Donald Trump has promised to share some of the money generated by his administration’s tariffs with millions of Americans, but details regarding the plan, and whether it will actually come to fruition, remain unknown.
Last month, Trump took to social media to bash those who have been critical of the administration’s implementation of tariffs on various countries over the past year.
“People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS! We are now the Richest, Most Respected Country In the World, With Almost No Inflation, and A Record Stock Market Price. 401k’s are Highest EVER. 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,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
He went on to say that the money generated through such tariffs would be redistributed to millions of Americans via tariff dividends, which would be similar to the stimulus checks issued throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
“A dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone,” Trump wrote.
The social media post did not offer any specific details regarding the proposal, including who would qualify.
For the pandemic-era stimulus checks, full payments were available to individuals earning up to $75,000 annually and couples earning up to $150,000 annually, with some earning above those thresholds eligible eligible for lesser payments.
However, it remains unclear whether the tariff-funded checks will become a reality.
Shortly after Trump’s post, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told ABC News that he had not spoken with the president about the proposal and that the tariff dividend could come “in lots of forms,” including the tax savings many Americans will receive through provisions in the Big Beautiful Bill.
“It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president’s agenda. No tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, deductibility on auto loans. Those are substantial deductions that are being financed in the tax bill,” Bessent told ABC News.