Fact Check

Did Trump Promise 'Tremendous Stimulus Package Immediately After the Election'?

The IRS sent out the first payments in April 2020, and American families have been awaiting word on when a second stimulus check may be coming.

Published Nov. 10, 2020

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump walks to Marine One after speaking to the press as he departs the White House in Washington, DC, on October 30, 2020. - Trump travels to Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota for campaign rallies. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Image Via ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
Claim:
On Oct. 30, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump said: "We will have a tremendous stimulus package immediately after the election."

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Following the 2020 U.S. presidential election, in which former Vice President Joe Biden had been declared the winner, Americans awaited word on a second round of stimulus check payments to provide relief during the economic downturn in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Oct. 30, 2020, President Donald Trump took questions outside the White House prior to boarding Marine One. The last question from the news media was about when stimulus relief may be coming, with a reporter asking: "Stimulus. Are you, what about, what's happening here?"

Trump answered, beginning in the video at the 5:54 mark:

We're going to have a tremendous, we will have, do you want me to answer that one Steve? We will have a tremendous stimulus package immediately after the election. And I think we're going to take back the House. I think we're going to do very well in the Senate, little bit more complex, frankly. And I think we're going to have a fantastic presidential election, because nobody has done more than this administration in the first three and a half years. There's never been a president or an administration that's done more than we have for our farmers, for our manufacturers, for everybody in terms of tax cuts, for our military, what we've done with the military in terms of budget, $2.5 trillion. We'll be completing the wall very shortly. We're up over 400 miles. Nobody has done what we've done even close. So I think we're going to have a great election. People are going to realize that. That's why you have the big turnouts. That's why you have the big crowds. So we'll see you there. Ok?

It is true that Trump said that, "We will have a tremendous stimulus package immediately after the election."

In the week after the election, CNBC reported on Nov. 9 that "it could take until January before more coronavirus stimulus relief is finalized."

Millions of Americans are waiting for more financial help from the federal government.

Following President-elect Joe Biden’s win, it now looks more probable that another coronavirus relief package may not come until January.

That’s even as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has vowed to make another deal a priority in the chamber now.

As for what a payment amount might be in a second round of stimulus checks, Business Insider reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said it would be smaller than the first stimulus checks, which promised varying payments dictated by income of $1,200 for individuals, or $2,400 for married couples, plus $500 for each child under age 17. He cited a jobs report that said "the economy gained 638,000 jobs in October," using that "as a reason to support a slimmer relief plan instead of the more ambitious bill Democrats want."

McConnell mentioned the reason for the second payment likely being "smaller" than the first one sent out in April as being "more appropriate" because the coronavirus is "not going away until we get a vaccine."

Democrats previously introduced comprehensive legislation on May 12 that included direct payments, passing the bill in the U.S. House on May 15 with no Republican support. Trump dismissed the bill as being "dead on arrival" in the U.S. Senate. The Associated Press reported on Oct. 29 that talks between Democrats and Republicans had "dragged on for months without producing results."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a scolding assessment, blaming Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for failing to produce answers to her demands for Democratic priorities as part of the approximately $2 trillion aid package. President Donald Trump again promised 'a very big package as soon as the election is over' and faulted Pelosi for the pre-election standoff that has rattled markets and shows, at least for now, no signs of easing.

The Associated Press also noted in October that talks during lame-duck sessions "often fail to deliver." Despite opposition from the Trump administration, President-elect Joe Biden is currently in the process of transitioning into the White House ahead of Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2021. Biden has laid out his incoming administration's "plan to combat coronavirus (COVID-19) and prepare for future global health threats," which includes economic relief.

In 2009, Biden looked on as President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, passing a stimulus package that initially provided $400 for individuals and $800 for couples. The economic relief came in the wake of the Great Recession that began prior to Obama's 2009 inauguration.

At this time, there has been no official announcement regarding if or when more stimulus checks are coming.

Jordan Liles is a Senior Reporter who has been with Snopes since 2016.

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