The White House has finally revealed who will qualify for the $2000 checks Trump promised to hand out to nearly every American.
This month, the president announced on Truth Social that citizens will receive a “dividend of at least $2000” thanks to the nation’s newfound wealth from his tariff policies.
The 79-year-old framed this payout as a result of the tariffs he has implemented, which he argues have made the US the “richest, most respected country in the world".
"People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS!" he wrote. "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," he added.
.jpg_9MdBvK?tr=cr-0.0.1024.768,f-webp,q-75)
Who’s Actually Getting Paid?
This week, the Trump administration finally offered some clarity on who could receive the much-discussed checks.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick revealed that President Trump is “going to constrain it to people who need the money," so only low- and middle-income Americans are likely to qualify.
“What he's trying to do is to make sure people in America understand that tariffs are their policy. It’s to make America stronger,” Lutnick said during an interview.
The updated stance comes after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that the proposed stimulus would likely apply to families earning $100,000 a year or less.
That figure would align with past COVID-era relief checks, according to Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation. Still, no final income cap has been officially set, and Bessent admitted the threshold was still “in discussion.”
As of now, the form of the payments is also undecided. Bessent has floated the possibility of tax credits or benefits that could be rolled into Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, assuming it ever passes.
But even if a plan is approved, don’t expect any money soon, as Trump previously confirmed the checks wouldn’t arrive until 2026, telling reporters aboard Air Force One: “The tariffs allow us to give a dividend. We’re going to do a dividend, and we’re also going to be reducing debt.”
The Numbers Don’t Add Up, And The Courts May Intervene
While the idea of $2,000 checks has gained traction among voters, economists and lawmakers are sounding alarms over how it would be paid for.
So far, Trump’s aggressive tariffs have generated about $195.9 billion through August 2025, with roughly $90 billion collected through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
But estimates suggest the cost of distributing $2,000 to 123 million qualifying households would hit $300 billion or more, with some projecting totals as high as $600 billion.
Trump remains optimistic that tariff revenues will skyrocket in the coming months as companies burn through their pre-tariff inventories and are forced to pay full fees.
“The full benefit of the Tariffs had not yet been calculated,” he posted to Truth Social, per Fox News.
Still, there’s a growing legal threat as the Supreme Court is reviewing whether his use of IEEPA to impose tariffs was even constitutional.
Several lower courts have already ruled against him, and a reversal could invalidate a big portion of the tariff revenue, possibly forcing refunds and blowing a hole in the funding plan.
When asked if he’d move forward with the dividend checks if the Supreme Court shuts down his tariffs, Trump replied: “Then I’d have to do something else.”