Donald Trump promised $2000 checks to Americans from his tariff revenues. Any guesses what his answer is now?

Everyone loves free money. Back in 2020, the IRS paid out three rounds of yummy stimulus checks, which were billed as “economic impact payments”, intended to help those whose income had been cut or stopped entirely by the COVID pandemic.

Since then, politicians have realized that, while it’s hardly the most sophisticated political tactic, people will vote for you if you send them money in the mail. Donald Trump quickly seized upon this as a way to bolster his flagging support in Nov. 2025, saying:

“People that are against Tariffs are FOOLS! … A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.”

NYT: “You promised $2,000 checks to Americans based off of your tariff revenues. When can —”

Trump: “I did do that? When did I do that?”

Trump can’t keep track of all his lies. pic.twitter.com/tw4z1SSI6Y

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 12, 2026

Well, it’s now January and, unless they got lost in the mail, nobody has received a government check. Trump has now been called out on this, as a reporter prodded him and asked when the payout is coming.

Uh, oh, uh… the check is.. coming later.

Trump’s response:

“I did do that? When did I do that? Yeah, well I’m thinking I did $1776 for the military right?” … “Well.. I am going to. The tariff money is so substantial that’s coming in that I’ll be able to do $2,000 sometime, I would say… towards the end of the year?”

Uh-huh. Reader, if you believe that Trump is going to send you a $2,000 check “towards the end of the year” I have a lovely bridge to sell you! Just sign here, hand over your bank details, and I’ll ensure it’s delivered right to your front door. Did I mention I’m also the wallet inspector?

Trump is, almost literally, writing cheques with his mouth that his butt can’t cash. It seems almost certain that he’d completely forgotten about spouting this on social media in the early hours of the morning and is trying to bluff his way through the question.

Let’s just throw this on the teetering pile of evidence that Trump’s brain is degenerating into a tangled goo of resentment and broken promises. With nervous doctors continually probing his mental state and subjecting him to cognitive tests, we’d be surprised if he remembers what he’d said last week, let alone two months ago.