(WKRC) - President Donald Trump's proposal to issue a $2,000 dividend check to select Americans, funded by U.S. tariff revenues, is facing significant skepticism and potential legal challenges. Trump announced on Friday that the checks would not be distributed before the holidays, with a potential rollout in 2026. "No, no. Not for this year. It'll be next year sometime," Trump said aboard Air Force 1.
The president's plan suggests that the tariffs are generating enough revenue to finance the dividend. However, budget experts and analysts are questioning the feasibility of the proposal. Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, criticized the plan, stating, "The numbers just don't check out."
John Ricco, an analyst with the Budget Lab at Yale University, estimated that while tariffs could bring in $200 billion to $300 billion annually, the cost of a $2,000 dividend for all Americans, including children, would reach $600 billion. "It's clear that the revenue coming in would not be adequate," Ricco said.
"It's a lot of money, but we've taken in a lot of money from tariffs," said Trump on issuing dividend checks.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House that Trump's team is mulling all options.
"The tariffs allow us to give a dividend, if we want to do that. Now we're going to do a dividend, and we're also reducing debt we have because of Biden and others; we have $37 trillion in debt," said Trump. "So we're going to be doing a dividend, which people will enjoy and spend and do what they want. But we're also going to be reducing debt very substantially."