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President Donald Trump said he is considering sending Americans $2,000 rebate checks funded by revenue from tariffs, raising the prospect of a new direct-payment program tied to his trade policies.
In an interview aired ahead of the Super Bowl, the president told NBC News correspondent Tom Llamas that he is “looking at it very seriously,” arguing that tariffs are producing large sums for the federal government.
“We’d make it — I’m looking at it very seriously,” President Trump said. “I’m the only one who can do it because I’m taking in hundreds of billions of dollars of money from tariffs.”
Asked whether Americans should expect the payments, the president said issuing checks is possible but emphasized that no final decision has been made.
“Oh yeah, sure. I can do that,” he said. “I haven’t made the commitment yet, but I may make the commitment.”
President Trump compared the idea to recent bonus-style payments provided to members of the military, referencing a $1,776 check tied to his budget priorities.
The proposal comes as the president continues to defend his use of tariffs, saying they have boosted the U.S. economy and forced other countries to contribute more to American growth. He described tariffs as “making our country rich” and said they are bringing in “tremendous amounts of money.”
“The one thing that they don’t say anymore is affordability, because I fixed the problem that they created,” President Trump said.
RSBN previously reported that, in November, President Trump said he wants to deliver tariff-funded rebate checks to “moderate income, middle income” Americans by mid-2026, describing the payments as part of a larger effort to ease household costs and pay down federal debt.
“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,” the president told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with the 2026 FIFA World Cup task force.
He added that tariff policy has protected key industries, saying, “We’ve protected our businesses from being raided like we did with the chip business. Now we’re bringing them all back.”
