Americans could be in for a pretty decent payday as a result of Donald Trump’s so-called ‘tariff dividends’.
Republicans have long pledged to put money back into the pockets of American citizens, but whether that’s actually possible is still a question that many are asking.
Back in February, Elon Musk (who was then a ‘special government employee’) suggested that people could get as much as $5,000 into their bank accounts from DOGE dividends.
This might have been a bit too optimistic, though; at the time of writing, DOGE is said to have saved $214 billion, which amounts to just over $1,329 in savings for the estimated 161 million individual federal taxpayers, per its website.
But now Trump has teased a similar payday for Americans, this time from ‘tariff dividends’.
He wrote on Truth Social on Sunday (November 9): “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.”
Trump continued: “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. A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.”
The POTUS didn’t share when such a payment would be made, however.
According to the Treasury Department’s September statement, $195 billion from tariff duties was collected in the first three quarters of this year, The Hill reported.
The money will also be used to pay off America’s ‘ENORMOUS’ debt, Trump added. The US is in $37.64 trillion worth of debt as of 2025, per US Treasury Fiscal Data.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has since been quizzed about the president’s remarks and shared exactly where this 2,000 bucks might come from.
Speaking to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, he said: “The $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms, in lots of ways, George.
“You know, it could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president’s agenda – you know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, deductibility of auto loans.”
He did admit that he hadn’t spoken to Trump directly about the proposed plans, though.
