Lutnick Addresses Rumors About President Trump’s $5K Dividend Plan: ‘It’s Not Tax Money’

In an interview with NBC News at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Lutnick said, “It’s not tax money.”

“Together we’re going to deliver that plan and we’re going to pay that money to the Americans, and not from taxpayer money,” Lutnick continued.

Trump announced the dividends at the GOP’s midterm convention but said the money would only be given if Republicans maintained control of both chambers in Congress after November’s elections. The proposal would disburse a total of $1.2 trillion in dividends to roughly 270 million U.S. adults.

Lutnick said the administration could “earn the money that Donald Trump wants to pay out, not from the deficit and not from taxpayers.”

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I actually think this is a good strategy to increase turnout of Rs and Independents too.

— Jenifer Towner (@TownerJM) September 12, 2026

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My opinion
Good thought.
Not practical though.
You can’t spend money based on POTENTIAL income.

— Lance Byron (@LanceB23231) September 12, 2026

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I have an idea! Sell California to the Chinese for $1.35T and then distribute the cash to the rest of us!

— Dan Eastman (@DanEastman2023) September 11, 2026

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He also said the funds could come from the money the federal government made after Mr. Trump bought a stake in tech company Intel. Mr. Trump said that stake has generated more than $30 billion for the government over the last several months.

“Everybody knows we got just about 500 million shares, and the stock was $20, and now it’s $100, so we’re up $50 billion,” Mr. Lutnick said.

White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said in an interview with Bloomberg TV that the $5,000 payout can be done “in a fiscally responsible way.”

Mr. Hassett said one possibility was to fund the payouts through a reconciliation bill, a legislative mechanism that the majority party in the House and Senate can use to approve a fiscal package while bypassing the need for votes from the opposing party.

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