President Donald Trump on Sunday posted on Truth Social that tariffs on foreign goods will lead to "a dividend" of $2,000 per person or even more.
"A dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone," Trump said in a post that began: "People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS!"
When asked about Trump's comments in an interview on ABC's "This Week," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that while an initial result of tariffs is to generate a surge of revenue for the government, the long-term goal is to "rebalance trade" by restoring manufacturing to the United States. The increase in manufacturing would lead to a decline in tariff revenue, Bessent said, but would bolster tax revenue.
"It's not about taking in the revenue. It's about rebalancing," Bessent said.
Host George Stephanopoulos asked Bessent about Trump's dividend vow, and Bessent hedged a little bit, suggesting the dividend, for which there is not a specific proposal, could show up in different types of economic benefits.
"I haven't spoken to the president about this yet," he said.
"The $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms and lots of ways, George," he added.
Bessent suggested that the dividend could take the form of paying for "the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president's agenda," citing the elimination of taxes on tips and overtime, among other things.
Last week, the Trump administration in a Supreme Court case defended the legality of the widespread imposition of tariffs on foreign goods. Opponents of Trump's tariffs argue that the tariffs are a tax on American businesses and consumers, and that by imposing them in the way he has done, the president usurped Congress' constitutionally granted authority to tax.
"To have the president’s foreign affairs power trump that basic power for Congress seems to me to kind of neutralize between the two powers, the executive power and the legislative power," said Chief Justice John Roberts in questioning during oral arguments Wednesday.
Trump mocked that argument in a separate TruthSocial post Sunday: "So, let’s get this straight??? The President of the United States is allowed (and fully approved by Congress!) to stop ALL TRADE with a Foreign Country (Which is far more onerous than a Tariff!), and LICENSE a Foreign Country, but is not allowed to put a simple Tariff on a Foreign Country, even for purposes of NATIONAL SECURITY. That is NOT what our great Founders had in mind! The whole thing is ridiculous!"
The president has insisted that his tariffs are a key part of a plan to bolster the American economy to unseen heights.
"Businesses are pouring into the USA ONLY BECAUSE OF TARIFFS. HAS THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT NOT BEEN TOLD THIS??? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON???President DJT," he concluded.
A Truth social torrent
Beyond discussing tariffs, Trump was quite active on Trump Social on Sunday.
In one post, he said of Senate Democrats: "THEY WANT TO CHEAT!!! THEY ARE A BUNCH OF SCOUNDRELS, CHEATERS, & PSYCHOPATHS." In another, he went on a tirade terming former President Joe Biden "Sleepy" and "Crooked" and ending with: "Despite it all, President Trump would get Re-Elected, and SAVE AMERICA!"
And in a third, he merely said "WOW!" in re-posting a meme about former President Barack Obama that claimed Obama received millions in royalties from Obamacare. The meme was from a satirical web site called America's Last Line of Defense: Home of the Dunning Kruger Times, which says on its Facebook page: "The flagship of the ALLOD network of trollery and propaganda for cash. Nothing on this page is real."
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