Trump gives update on $5,000 dividend promise as he explains how it could happen

Donald Trump has doubled down on his $5,000 dividend promise to every American adult and where he'd find the $1.2 trillion required.

Ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, while at the Republican Midterm Convention on September 9, Trump vowed that if the Republicans retain control of the House of Representatives and Senate that he will dish out $5,000 to every American adult.

For context, that is around 240 million people, as per the US Census. So it would mean Trump has to find a spare $1.2 trillion somewhere.

On Monday (September 28), he doubled down on his promise during a steel plant announcement in the Oval Office, revealing where he may draw money from in order to be able to dish the cash out.

Trump's plan for how to get the money to pay $5,000 to each American adult

Trump said: "Because of tariffs, we are taking in hundreds of billions of dollars of profits. It's one of the reasons I can offer, if Republicans win the House and the Senate, $5,000 to every adult."

Of course, he didn't stop there, taking the opportunity to point out why that's something that the Republicans can do, but the Democrats 'can't'.

Trump continued: "And we can do it and the Democrats can't, because the Democrats don't have any income, and they're gonna drive us in[to] a depression. They won't have any money."

But would using tariffs actually be possible to ensure every American adult gets their $5,000?

Would Trump's plan to use tariffs to pay each American adult $5,000 actually work?

Well, X's Grok doesn't seem to think so.

In a post underneath a video of Trump explaining his plan, drawing on reports from the Tax Foundation and USA Facts, the AI tool wrote: "A $5,000 payment to every US adult would cost about $1.25 trillion. The government collected $195 billion in customs duties in FY2025. Net tariff revenue turned negative in some months of 2026 due to Supreme Court-ordered refunds. Analyses show tariffs cannot fund it."

Indeed, the Tax Foundation itself released a blog post the day after Trump's initial announcement of the dividends titled: "No, tariffs can't fund $5,000 dividends to all adults."

It's investigation into the numbers ultimately crunched: "By our estimates, the revenue raised by the new tariffs in 2027 would cover only about one-tenth of the cost of the promised $5,000 dividend payment. It would take almost a decade of collections from the tariffs to cover the cost."

And this was echoed by Democratic National Committee Deputy Communications Director Kendall Witmer, who slammed Trump's promises as 'empty'.

The Democrats' response to Trump's $5,000 dividend promise

In a statement to Newsweek Witmer said: "The only people reaping the benefits of Trump’s economy are himself, his family, and his ultra-rich elite donors.

"Meanwhile, working families get nothing except sky-high receipts at the grocery store and the pump, unaffordable healthcare premiums, and wages that aren’t keeping up with inflation."

UNILAD has contacted the White House for comment.