Washington, Dec 18 (IANS) US President Donald Trump announced a special one-time “Warrior Dividend” payment for members of the American military, saying more than 1.45 million service personnel would receive $1,776 checks before Christmas as part of what he described as a broader economic and national security reset.
“Tonight I am also proud to announce that more than 1,450,000 military service members will receive a special -- we call Warrior Dividend -- before Christmas,” Trump said in his address to the nation on Wednesday (local time). “We are sending every soldier $1,776. And the checks are already on the way.”
Trump said the payment was being issued “in honour of our nation’s founding in 1776,” linking the dividend to the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. He credited tariff revenues and recently passed legislation for making the payments possible.
“We made a lot more money than anybody thought because of tariffs, and the bill helped us along,” he said, adding, “Nobody deserves it more than our military”.
The announcement comes as Trump seeks to highlight improved military recruitment and morale under his leadership. He said the US armed forces were seeing “record enlistment,” a sharp turnaround from what he described as “among the worst recruitment numbers in our military’s history” last year.
“What a difference a year makes,” Trump said.
The president framed the dividend as part of a wider effort to rebuild American strength at home and abroad, arguing that his administration had restored the military to unmatched global dominance.
“After rebuilding the United States military in my first term, and with the addition we are adding right now, we have the most powerful military anywhere in the world, and it’s not even close,” he said.
Trump also tied the dividend to his broader economic narrative, asserting that tariffs, private-sector job growth and rising investment had strengthened the US economy sufficiently to fund direct payments without additional taxation.
“I’ve restored American strength,” Trump said, describing the military as central to what he portrayed as renewed global respect for the United States.
The Warrior Dividend, while modest in size, carries symbolic weight, reinforcing Trump’s messaging around nationalism, military strength and economic self-sufficiency ahead of the landmark 250th anniversary celebrations next year.
--IANS
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