Here’s what you need to know about the dividends proposal:
What Trump has said about the dividends
Trump on his social media platform Truth Social over the weekend posted that he thinks people who are against his administration’s approach to tariffs are “FOOLS!”
“A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone,” the president posted on Truth Social over the weekend.
On Monday, Trump posted again on Truth Social about the dividends.
“All money left over from the $2000 payments made to low and middle income USA Citizens, from the massive Tariff Income pouring into our Country from foreign countries, which will be substantial, will be used to SUBSTANTIALLY PAY DOWN NATIONAL DEBT,” he shared.
The nation’s debt rests at $38 trillion, with some economists projecting it could reach $39 trillion over the next few months. The U.S. hit $34 trillion in debt in January 2024, $35 trillion in July 2024 and $36 trillion in November 2024, national news outlets have reported.
Who could qualify
Trump has not clarified who would qualify for the dividend, although he said “everyone,” except “high-income people,” would be paid at least $2,000.
The White House has not released additional information about the dividends plan as of Monday. Past stimulus checks that have gone out to taxpayers were determined using factors like income level, the number of dependents in a household and more.
Tariff revenue, legal challenges
Trump administration officials have said the primary goal of tariffs is not to generate revenue, but rather to address trade arrangements the administration views as imbalanced.
However, the tariffs have generated revenue — according to a September statement, the U.S. Treasury Department has collected $195 billion from tariffs in the first three quarters of the year. But critics of the strategy have asserted business owners and consumers are paying the price.
Trump’s announcement comes amid the U.S. Supreme Court’s skepticism on the legality of the president’s use of emergency powers to levy import taxes on other nations.
Trump has said that the United States will be rendered “defenseless’’ and possibly “reduced to almost Third World status” if the Supreme Court strikes down the tariffs he imposed this year on nearly every country on Earth.
Past stimulus checks
Earlier this year, the Internal Revenue Service issued a stimulus check to taxpayers who did not claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns. This credit was exclusively for taxpayers who did not receive previous stimulus payments.
Prior to that, the last stimulus check sent out to taxpayers was in 2021 as a part of pandemic-era federal relief plans. This round of congressionally approved checks, which included $1,400 payments to single individuals, was included in the American Rescue Plan Act.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration also said it was considering a plan to use 20% of the $2 trillion goal in federal government savings to fund payments, or DOGE dividends, to taxpayers. Another 20% of savings would go toward paying down the national debt.
But payments specifically linked to DOGE did not go out to taxpayers, and savings have not reached that ambitious goal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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