Can President Trump Really Pay $5000 To Each Adult US Citizen?

While speaking at a convention, US President Donald Trump said that every American citizen would receive a dividend of $5000 if the Republican party won the mid-term elections. Trump said that the dividend would roll out if Republicans maintained control over the House of Representatives and the Senate. However, can President Donald Trump really pay $5000 to each adult American citizen? Let’s do the math.

Can President Donald Trump Really Pay $5000 To Each Adult American Citizen?

Firstly, know that the dividend would not automatically roll out if Trump and the Republicans win the mid-term elections. Congress would have to certainly authorize the money. The US Constitution clearly says funds cannot be withdrawn from the US Treasury without an appropriation made by law.

Secondly, the cost of such an endeavor is enormous. There are about 270 million adult American citizens right now. If Trump were to send $5000 to each of the 270 million people, it would cost around a whopping $1.2 trillion. President Trump and Vice President JD Vance suggested that they would use funds collected from the US tariffs. However, one should note that the revenue collected from tariffs is nowhere near the required $1.2 trillion.

Thirdly, this is not the first time President Trump has made a promise of dividends to the American public. Trump had previously promised a $5000 dividend from savings made by spending cuts made by the now-defunct Department Of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.). The money was never sent. Trump had also promised a $2000 “tariff dividend” from the US tariff revenue. This, again, was not paid to the public. Trump had also said that people would get more than $1000 in payments tied to savings from expiring ACA subsidies. Once again, it was not paid to the public.

Given President Trump not living up to his previous promises, it is unlikely that the $5000 dividend promised if the Republicans win the mid-terms will ever come to fruition. Moreover, it would be too expensive to fulfill.