Trump vows to give $2,000 to almost everyone in the US – here’s who won’t be eligible
Donald Trump is famous for making promises that sound too good to be true. But even by his high standards, his recent promise to give tens of millions of Americans a $2,000 payment from what he said was tariff money is surprising.
In simple terms, Trump claims that his tariff plan has been so successful that the US government has enough extra cash to give a surprise bonus to half the population.
“A payment of at least $2000 for each person (not counting wealthy people!) will be given to everyone,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday.
However, this is where things get a bit complicated. In the post, Trump didn’t explain when the payment would happen, nor did he clarify who would qualify for the dividend, except for mentioning ‘wealthy people’.
“People who oppose 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 at their Highest EVER,” Trump said about his tariffs.
“We are bringing in Trillions of Dollars and will soon start paying off our HUGE DEBT, which is $37 Trillion. There is Record Investment in the USA, with factories and plants being built everywhere.”]} }}
Analysts have pointed out some possible issues with Trump’s big plan. First of all, the payment could cost between $300 billion and $513 billion, depending on whether kids are included and which adults can get it.
Economist Erica York mentioned: “If the limit is $100,000, 150 million adults would be eligible, costing around $300 billion. … When you consider that, tariffs have brought in $90 billion in net revenue compared to Trump’s suggested $300 billion rebate.”
Yes, you read that right. Based on these calculations, Trump’s rebate would actually cost the US more than three times what his tariffs have earned.
On top of that, the tariffs are also facing legal issues.
Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States listened to arguments in cases that challenge the president’s use of emergency powers to put the tariffs in place. Three lower courts have already decided that this method is illegal, and if the tariffs fail in court, any planned or expected payout system would vanish.
This means that any kind of payment at all (especially one of $2000) is not even close to being certain yet. It looks like a lot of things would need to happen before it’s even a possibility.
In any case, there’s a group that won’t be too worried either way, and that’s the people who are left out of qualifying for such a government payment. While Trump was pretty unclear about most parts of his promise, he did say that ‘high income people’ wouldn’t be able to take advantage of it.
It’s still unclear where he/they will set the limit for what counts as ‘high income’, but it’s likely best not to count on $2000 just showing up in your account anytime soon.
What do you all think? Will Trump actually give $2000 to most Americans? Or is this just a bunch of empty promises? Share your thoughts in the comments!