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President Joe Biden is leaving office in a few weeks and — as presidents tend to do — is sharing some self-reflective thoughts in the twilight of his term. Not about the war in Gaza or about his decision to remain in the 2024 race long after it became clear he was incapable of serving a second term — but about Covid stimulus checks.
During a Tuesday speech at the Brookings Institution, Biden said he regretted not signing his name on pandemic-era stimulus payments as President-elect Donald Trump had.
“Within the first two months of office I signed the American Rescue Plan,” Biden said. “And also learned something from Donald Trump — he signed checks for people, $7,400 for people because we passed the plan. I didn’t — stupid.”
Biden’s statement was incorrect on several fronts. The maximum amount given to an individual with no children through the three combined pandemic-era stimulus payments was $3,200. Two of those checks were authorized under Trump’s administration, and the third under Biden.
Trump did make a show of having his name printed on the first round of checks issued in mid-2020, marking the first time a president’s name had appeared on an IRS disbursement. While the president-elect was criticized for treating economic relief born of an act of Congress as a personal payment to Americans, his signature’s presence on the checks had staying power.
“I’m sure people will be very happy to get a big, fat, beautiful check and my name is on it,” Trump said at the time.
Earlier this year, while campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Barack Obama said that he often hears “folks say, ‘Donald Trump sent me a check during the pandemic,’” as a reason for their support of the Republican.
“Let me make sure y’all understand this. Joe Biden sent you a check during the pandemic, just like I gave people relief during the Great Recession. The thing is, we didn’t put our name on it because it wasn’t about feeding our egos, it wasn’t about advancing our politics, it was about helping people. That’s the difference,” Obama added.
When Biden issued the third round of stimulus payments in March 2021, he removed the presidential signature from the payments. Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at the time that “this is not about [Biden]. This is about the American people getting relief.”
Biden also used his speech at the Brookings Institution on Tuesday to warn of the devastating impact Trump’s economic plans could have for average Americans.
“The incoming administration is determined to return the country to another round of trickle-down economics and another tax cut for the wealthy that will not be paid for,” Biden said. “Once again causing massive deficits or significant cuts to basic programs like health care, education, and veterans benefits.”
“On top of that, he seems determined to impose steep universal tariffs on all imported goods,” he added. “I believe this approach is a major mistake. I believe we have proven that approach is a major mistake over the last four years.”
“But we’ll all know in time, we’ll all know in time,” the outgoing president lamented.
