White House aides talked Trump out of last-minute demand for stimulus checks as big as $2,000

[Alben Barkley]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2020/12/17/trump-2000-stimulus-checks/

White House aides intervened Thursday to prevent President Trump from issuing a statement calling for substantially larger stimulus payments for millions of Americans, according to two people granted anonymity to share details of the private exchange.

On a phone call Thursday afternoon, Trump told allies that he believes stimulus payments in next relief package should be “at least” $1,200 per person and possibly as big as $2,000 per person, the officials said. Congressional leadership is currently preparing a stimulus package that would provide checks of $600 per person.

Trump was in the middle of formally drafting his demand for the larger payments when White House officials told him that doing so could imperil delicate negotiations over the economic relief package, the officials said. Congressional Republicans have insisted that the relief bill remain less than $1 trillion, and it’s currently designed to cost around $900 billion. Larger stimulus checks could push the package’s total over $1 trillion.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

There won't be a stimulus until Biden takes office.

[Santander]

"Stimulus checks" are just legal bribes from politicians to voters.

[Alben Barkley]

"Stimulus checks" are just legal bribes from politicians to voters.

This was after the election though, which kinda surprises me.

[Santander]

"Stimulus checks" are just legal bribes from politicians to voters.

This was after the election though, which kinda surprises me.

He wants to be popular for his political comeback, his kids' political careers, his Trump TV "shadow presidency", or whatever he ends up doing.

[brucejoel99]

Can we get the names of the aides who talked Trump off of this rant? Because f**k them.

[T'Chenka]

It's weird to me that Trump cared about angering McConnell and his own base more than he cared about doing what HE thought was moral (weird to say) and also getting some anti-Trumpers to maybe gain just a little bit of respect for him. To me, this points towards Trump's mentality being that he wants to run in 2024 or at least be actively involved in influencing Republican voters going forward. He's not planning to have a quiet retirement.

[politicallefty]

"Stimulus checks" are just legal bribes from politicians to voters.

And I would quite like my bribe, thank you very much, as I think the majority of the American people would. Of course, tax cuts for the rich are something completely different.


This could easily get through the House. Let us not shift blame from where it lies.

[Buffalo Mayor Young Kim]

"Stimulus checks" are just legal bribes from politicians to voters.

Well it's about time we got some bread with all this circus.

[VAR]

OMG #POPULISM 

As an Arlington County #elitist, I can only admire

[Former President tack50]

If the bill I costed recently in Fantasyland is any indication, a policy like that will increase the deficit by several trillion overnight

[DrScholl]

As supposedly populist as Trump is he still surrounded himself with standard conservatives who are extremely austere.

[Beet]

There won't be a stimulus until Biden takes office.

The only way there will be a stimulus is if the Democrats take the Senate.

[brucejoel99]

There won't be a stimulus until Biden takes office.

The only way there will be a stimulus is if the Democrats take the Senate.

The legislative text of a $900B package (including $600 in direct payment checks & a $300/wk extension of unemployment benefits) is literally being drawn up by the leadership as we speak for passage this weekend. It's certainly not as big a stimulus as could've been wanted, sure, but what the 2 of you are saying are just flat-out falsehoods.

[PSOL]

Sons of b••••es

[Progressive Pessimist]

I guess with the election being over he was convinced that he had nothing to gain from this, and his advisers were more than okay with that after reminding him of it.

[GALeftist]

Trump............... FF?

JK I'm not BJG but F all those aides, they have blood on their hands

[Obama-Biden Democrat]

Trump is too stupid and intellectually lazy to stand up to Cocaine Mitch and the other randian worshippers on policy issues like the stimulus and infrastructure. He ran as a populist with a heart in 2016 who would stand up to Wall Street and has proved he is a total fraud.