President Donald Trump said Monday that he wants to send tariff checks to "moderate income, middle income" Americans by mid-2026.
"We have thousands of dollars for individuals of moderate income, middle income. We are going to pay down debt. We have a lot of money from tariffs; if we didn't have tariffs, this country would be in serious trouble," Trump told reporters Monday in the Oval Office at a meeting with the 2026 FIFA World Cup task force.
"We've taken in tremendous amounts of money. And you know what's more important than that?
"We've protected our businesses from being raided like we did with the chip business. Now we're bringing them all back," he added.
As of Sept. 30, the federal government had generated $195 billion in tariff-related revenue, up 153% from $77 billion in fiscal 2024, according to the Treasury Department. Almost $30 billion was collected in July alone, Treasury reported.
Trump upended the global trading system in August when he imposed a 10% base tariff on imports from every country, plus other specific duties that vary from state to state.
The president has focused squarely on the issue of affordability in recent weeks, insisting that any higher costs were triggered by policies enacted under former President Joe Biden rather than his own tariff policies.
On Friday, though, Trump rolled back tariffs on more than 200 food products, including such staples as coffee, beef, bananas, and orange juice, in the face of growing angst among consumers about the high cost of groceries.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday sounded a bit blindsided by the audacious tariff rebate plan.
On Fox News, Bessent said he hadn't discussed the dividend with the president and suggested that it might not mean that Americans would get a check from the government.
"We will see. We need legislation for that," Bessent told host Maria Bartiromo when asked if Trump will be sending direct payments of $2,000 or more to Americans.
"Again, President Trump is all about solutions, Maria," he continued.
"Everything is on the table, but I will tell you that, again, thanks to him keeping his campaign promises to working Americans with the ... no tax on tips, Social Security, overtime, we are going to see a big bump in the first quarter with the refunds and the real incomes."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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