It pays t keep your reservations when Donald Trump makes a promise. The current POTUS has a tendency to embellish and exaggerate certain things, after all, while prior to, and in his role as president, heâs made any number of lofty vows that have yet to come to fruition.
One that he might truly be held to account for, though, was made recently, and it involves the promise to pay almost all Americans a dividend of $2,000.
The money, supposedly, will be made available to the government thanks to Trumpâs controversial tariff scheme. Trump pledged to shell out the above sum to all citizens who donât fall into the âhigh incomeâ bracket.
Writing on Truth Social last week, Trump penned: âPeople that are against Tariffs are FOOLS!â he wrote. âWith Almost No Inflation, and A Record Stock Market Price. 401kâs are Highest EVER. We are taking in Trillions of Dollars and will soon begin paying down our ENORMOUS DEBT, $37 Trillion.
âRecord Investment in the USA, plants and factories going up all over the place.â
He added: âA dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.â

The post in question neglected to elaborate on a potential timeline, nor did it outline exactly who would and wouldnât be eligible for the dividend.
Perhaps predictably, doubts were cast on Trumpâs plan to hand out $2000 to everyone. The Guardian delved a little deeper into the potential problems with such a huge undertaking on the governmentâs part, with analysts pointing out that there are two major hurdles.
The first is cost. Such a payment could cost between $300 billion and $513 billion, depending on whether children count and which adults are eligible.
Economist Erica York wrote: âIf the cutoff is $100,000, 150M adults would qualify, for a cost near $300 billion. ⌠Adjusting for that, tariffs have raised $90 billion of net revenues compared to Trumpâs proposed $300 billion rebate.â
The second issue is the legal challenges associated with the tariffs themselves, which is where any and all money for dividends would come from.
Recently, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments in cases challenging the presidentâs use of emergencyâpowers law to implement the tariffs. Three lower courts already ruled the approach illegal, and if the tariffs collapse in court, any planned or perceived system resulting in a payout would disappear.
Nevertheless, Trump provided an update late last week, suggesting that any dividend payments would have to wait until 2026.
âIt will be next year⌠The tariffs allow us to give a dividend. Weâre going to do a dividend and weâre also going to be reducing debt,â the president told reporters aboard Air Force One, per The New York Post.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, meanwhile, was asked about the plan during a recent interview with Fox Business, responding: âWe will see. We need legislation for that.â
As mentioned, Trump â just as virtually any other politician to walk the earth â has a rich history of failing to live up to promises made. Yet this one may have ramifications beyond the usual.
Promising the people sweeping changes to law, a difficult-to-define cheaper cost of living, and even a huge wall to separate two countries might not leave them ready to riot if it can be argued that you havenât delivered.
Promising the people â in your own words, no less â $2,000 each is not something theyâre likely to forget anytime soon.
Do you think Trump will make good on his promise? Let us know in the comments.

