President Donald Trump was criticized after he gave a waffling answer to a reporter who asked him about the status of the $2,000 checks he promised months ago to give Americans due to tariff revenue
Tariffs are a tax on imported goods, usually calculated as a percentage of the purchase price. While tariffs can shield domestic manufacturers by making foreign products more expensive, they are also used as a tool to penalize countries engaged in unfair trade practices, such as government subsidies or dumping goods below market value.
Trump has championed tariffs, arguing falsely that foreign nations bear the cost. In reality, it is American importers—businesses that purchase goods from abroad—who pay the tariffs, with the revenue going directly to the U.S. Treasury.
These companies often offset their increased costs by raising prices for consumers, meaning that tariffs ultimately function as a hidden tax on American shoppers.
As recently as last month, Trump claimed that officials in his administration suddenly found $30 billion they "never knew existed" and said during a Cabinet meeting that "we're going to be giving back refunds out of the tariffs, as we have taken in literally trillions of dollars."
The month before that, he said tariff dividend checks would be issued "probably in the middle of next year," amounting to "thousands of dollars for individuals of moderate income, middle income."
But during an interview last week with four New York Times White House correspondents, Trump gave the following response when asked when Americans could expect the $2,000 tariff dividend checks he promised:
"I did do that? When did I do that?"
Trump at first thought reporter Katie Rogers was referring to a so-called “warrior dividend” of $1,776 he'd promised millions of service members during a primetime address last month.
But when her colleague Tyler Pager returned to the question of the tariff revenue checks, he gave a wishy-washy answer:
"Well, I am going to ... 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."
You can hear what Trump said in the video below.
No one was surprised to know Trump was once again making stuff up to pacify the American people.
Don't hold your breath.
