President Donald Trump revived talk of $2,000 “tariff rebate” checks this week, but he stopped short of making a firm commitment — and offered no clear date for when Americans might receive any payments.
In an interview with NBC News on Wednesday, Trump was asked about the proposed checks and when they could actually go out. “I’m looking at it very seriously. I’m the only one can do it because I’m takin’ in hundreds of billions of dollars of money from tariffs,” Trump said, according to the released transcript.
When pressed on whether he could guarantee the payments, Trump suggested he has the ability to do so — while stressing that a final decision hasn’t been made. “I can do that. I haven’t made the commitment yet, but I may make the commitment,” he said.
Trump also referenced what he called a “Warrior Dividend” program, saying he “just gave $1,776” to U.S. military servicemembers — a figure he said was chosen to reflect the year the Declaration of Independence was signed.
The rebate idea isn’t new. In a separate interview with The New York Times, Trump hinted any payments could come later in the year, arguing that tariff revenue would make it possible. “The tariff money is so substantial. That’s coming in, that I’ll be able to do $2,000 sometime. I would say toward the end of the year,” he said.
