Don't Hold Your Breath

Free money! You can't beat that.

That will fix inflation, great plan. Very strong plan. pic.twitter.com/6vra7Uzc6U

— Sarah Longwell (@SarahLongwell25) November 9, 2025

Not so fast:

Bessent: “The $2,000 dividend (that Trump just promised Americans) could come in lots of forms. It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing.”pic.twitter.com/DBbYIjg9K6

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As the discussion on ABC's This Week turned to tariffs, Bessent stated

And then, finally, in terms of the general tariffs, we are doing these trial deals that would not be possible. We were at a tipping point in terms of the economy, in terms of our trade balance, and we are re-balancing successfully.

When Stephanopoulos responded "Do you have a proposal, a formal proposal, to give a $2,000 dividend to every American?", the Treasury secretary replied 

I haven't spoken to the president about this yet, but, you know, it could -- the $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms, in lots of ways, George. You know, it could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president's agenda. You know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security. Deductibility of auto loans. So, you know, those are substantial deductions that, you know, are being financed in the tax bill.

Investopedia describes "dividends" as "a percentage of a company's earnings paid to its shareholders as their share of the profits. Dividends are generally paid quarterly, with the amount decided by the board of directors based on the company's most recent earnings."

A tax decrease, a tax credit, or a tax deduction is not a "dividend." However, the media is less likely to question a "dividend" than "free money" because "dividend" sounds, well, so Republican. It also bears a resemblance to the $2,000 which President Trump recommended, and Congress approved, as COVID relief funding during Mr. Trump's lame duck period.

So Bessent is lying. Trump is, also, but in a major upset, not about everything. Tariffs revenue is approximately $350 billion, not "trillions of dollars," at an annualized pace. However, Trump's estimation of a national debt of $37 trillion is reasonably accurate. Credit where credit is due.

Consequently, on November 9, 2025, President Trump made one honest statement.  It was truly a wondrous day even though, as we learned again, the Treasury secretary is a pile of green slime.

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