Is Donald Trump’s promise to hand out $2000 to every American really feasible? Well, clearly not, since his proposed policy has already turned into meme fodder and late-night punchlines on Fox Business Network. In fact, it was a Republican senator, Ron Johnson, who underscored the impossibility of the matter, since the United States of America continues to be under a massive $38 trillion debt. As Trump explained, these dividends were to be derived from revenue generated by administrative tariffs on imported goods.
Well, it was earlier this month that President DT elaborated on his high-end plan. Via a post on Truth Social, he wrote, “A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high-income people!) will be paid to everyone.” Later, when addressing the media, he mentioned that the recipients of this dividend would receive their payments before the following year’s mid-term elections.
Going against the tide, Senator Ron Johnson blasted the entire idea and re-centered on the fact that the country was still under massive debt, which should be everyone’s primary focus at this point. Thus, in the case of extra revenue, it is preferable to use it to reduce the deficit rather than hand it over to Americans.
In his words, “We’ve averaged $1.89 trillion deficits over the last five years. In the next 10 years, the projection is about $26 trillion from accumulated deficits. We have to address the deficit problem. We are on borrowed time here. So many people are whistling by the graveyard. If we’re bringing in revenue through the tariffs, that oughta be applied to reduce the deficit, not just making a cash payment to Americans.”
You need to go back and finish your GED. All I know is Bessent and Trump promised the $2000 from “trillions of dollars on tariff” I haven’t seen it. I’ll believe it when I see it! BTW, did you understand who paid these “$trillions in tariff?” AMERICANS importers, eventually…
— Soul of Democracy (@WonderWoman266) November 25, 2025
However, Johnson was quite diplomatic in his response when asked whether it meant he would vote against Trump’s proposal to hand out these dividends. While he said he wouldn’t vote to pass the legislation, the fact that handing out so much free money simply isn’t feasible.
He said, “We can’t afford it. I wish we were in a position to return the American public’s money, but we’re not. Again, we’ll have a deficit of at least $2 trillion this year. Again, that compares to before the pandemic: President Trump had deficits of $800 billion—Obama, in his last four years, $550 billion a year. Now, we’re $2 trillion? Completely unacceptable. We have to start focusing on that and doing something about it.”
While Trump’s far-fetched claims have become an embarrassing point of discussion at the moment, viewers and netizens have to make some quick notes. Johnson’s statements left a gaping loophole in America’s budgetary plan of action.
A netizen wrote, “America can’t afford $2k checks but somehow writes trillion-dollar budgets like it’s shopping on Amazon Prime. Make it make sense.” A second user further quipped, “If you believe anything Trump says at this point, I have some oceanfront property in Kansas to sell you.” Another netizen agreed with the massive debt the U.S. currently faces and wrote, “If I were $38 trillion in debt, I couldn’t afford anything either.”
The National Debt has increased by $9 trillion dollars under @realDonaldTrump since he started his second term (just 10 months), but Trump will tell you he made America $650 billion with trarrifs, and it’s so much money, that every American will get a $2000 check😂🤣
— GambitMentality (@GambitMentality) November 24, 2025
For the unversed, despite Trump’s claims, the White House seems to have a slightly different view on the matter. In fact, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed a commitment to carrying out the U.S. President’s plans, while adding that they were still unsure how it would all be carried out.
During a press meeting, Leavitt had said, “We are currently exploring all legal options to get that done. I don’t have a timeline for you or any further details. But I can confirm to you that the president made it clear he wants to make it happen, and so his team of economic advisers is looking into it.”
