President Donald Trump, on Sunday morning, revisited his idea of giving stimulus checks directly to Americans using tariff revenue, posting on Truth Social that he plans to give “at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!)”
“People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS!,” Trump said in a post. “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. 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.”
The post was one of nearly a dozen the president made Sunday morning, commenting on his tariff policy as the Supreme Court prepares to make a final ruling on his authority to enact tariffs.
The precedent used by the White House to enforce the varying tariffs with differing countries is a 1977 law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. An appeals court ruled in August that the president’s authority to regulate imports does not extend to unlimited tariffs — a power reserved only for Congress.
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The Supreme Court has heard arguments in the case last week and is expected to rule in the coming days whether to preserve Trump’s tariffs.
“So, let’s get this straight??? The President of the United States is allowed (and fully approved by Congress!) to stop ALL TRADE with a Foreign Country (Which is far more onerous than a Tariff!), and LICENSE a Foreign Country, but is not allowed to put a simple Tariff on a Foreign Country, even for purposes of NATIONAL SECURITY. That is NOT what our great Founders had in mind! The whole thing is ridiculous!,” Trump said in another post. “Businesses are pouring into the USA ONLY BECAUSE OF TARIFFS. HAS THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT NOT BEEN TOLD THIS??? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON???”
Trump previously floated the idea of distributing tariff revenue to Americans, telling One America News in October, “We also might make a distribution to the people, almost like a dividend to the people of America … We’re thinking maybe $1,000 to $2,000 — it’d be great.”
It is unclear what threshold the president is using to determine “high income” Americans.
When asked about the proposed stimulus plans, a White House official told NOTUS that “President Trump’s tariffs are resetting global commerce, securing manufacturing investments, and safeguarding our national and economic security – and they’re also raising billions in revenue for the federal government.”
“The Administration is committed to putting this money to good use for the American people,” the official added.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told ABC News on Sunday that he had not spoken with Trump about the plan for $2,000 checks but said that stimulus could come in many forms other than a check.
“The $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms, in lots of ways,” Bessent said. “It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president’s agenda — no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security – deductibility on auto loans.”
The White House claimed it has brought in nearly $200 billion in tariff revenue this year and has vowed to tap into the revenue for various purposes including benefits for farmers and military salaries, but has yet to address the need for congressional approval on any distribution of the tariff funds.
“We’re going to take some of that tariff money that we made, we’re going to give it to our farmers, who are, for a little while, going to be hurt until the tariffs kick in to their benefit,” Trump told reporters in September. “So we’re going to make sure that our farmers are in great shape, because we’re taking in a lot of money.”
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