US President Trump recently responded to a query regarding his earlier promise to distribute $2,000 checks to most Americans funded by tariff proceeds, the New York Post reported.
According to the report, Trump soon corrected himself, however, now saying the payments would likely go out near the end of the year, a shift from his prior commitment to deliver them before the 2026 midterm elections.
During a recent two-hour Oval Office interview with Trump, he was asked by New York Times White House correspondent, “You’ve promised $2,000 checks to Americans funded by tariff revenues. When can—”
Trump interrupted, asking, “I did? When did I say that?”
He went on to explain that he had been referring instead to the $1,776 bonus that was distributed to roughly 1.5 million service members before the holiday season, according to the U.S. Department of War.
“When will those Americans get those checks?” Times reporter asked again.
“Well, I am going to,” Trump said. “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.”
The White House did not respond to inquiries about whether the administration is currently working on the checks and if it has a planned date for the checks to be sent out, The New York Post reported.
Last year, the president pledged to distribute the checks to middle- and lower-income Americans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, despite skepticism from some Republicans over how the administration would finance the plan.
The nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated that delivering the payments to most Americans would cost about $600 billion — roughly double the tariff revenue the government is projected to bring in.
Trump on Monday (local time) unveiled a broad new trade action aimed at countries that “continue to do business with Iran,” declaring that all such nations will face a 25% tariff on their commercial dealings with the United States.
Trump announced on Truth Social that the policy would take effect immediately and described the directive as “final and conclusive.”
“Effective immediately, any country engaging in business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will be subject to a 25% tariff on any and all trade with the United States of America,” he wrote, adding that the order was final and thanking readers for their attention.
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