As this week got underway, Donald Trump held an event in the Oval Office ostensibly about the swearing in of an ambassador, although the president took the opportunity to emphasize one of his priorities.

“One of the things we’re going to do, we’re going to issue a dividend to our middle-income people and lower-income people of about $2,000,” the Republican boasted. “And we’re going to use the remaining tariffs to lower our debt.”

A day earlier, by way of his social media platform, Trump touted his idea of rebate checks worth “at least” $2,000 per person, adding that they’ll be “paid to everyone” except high-income earners. As part of the pitch, the president added that he also intends to use the same tariff revenue to “begin paying down our ENORMOUS DEBT, $37 Trillion.” (Not to be picky, but the national debt recently topped $38 trillion.)

As a practical matter, those hoping to see this money shouldn’t hold their breath. Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House National Economic Council, appears to be going through the motions, pretending these rebate checks will eventually manifest, even as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested to ABC News over the weekend that there is no real policy plan in place.

But putting that aside, the fact that Trump vowed to use tariff revenue simultaneously for “dividend” checks and for debt reduction underscores a problem he doesn’t seem to understand. There’s an old accounting maxim, “You can’t spend the same dollar twice,” and it’s time for the president to familiarize himself with the idea.

As regular readers know, Trump’s tariffs are generating revenue. He’s wildly exaggerated how much revenue, pointing to “trillions” of dollars, despite the reality of far more modest sums, but the money does exist. That’s not exactly surprising: Tariffs are, for all intents and purposes, taxes — and taxes generate revenue.

The trouble is that the president, who’s long struggled with the basics of accounting, seems to be under the impression that the pool of money is so enormous that he can use it for a whole buffet of priorities.

According to Trump, tariff revenue will be used to reduce the national debt. And pay for dividend checks. And pay for tax cuts. And even finance a new system of free child care for American families.

There are very credible concerns about tariffs weakening economic growth in the coming months and years, and it’s an open question as to whether the Supreme Court even allows the administration’s tariffs scheme to remain intact. But its foundational problem too often goes unaddressed: The White House can’t spend the same dollar several times over.

In late September, during his radical remarks to U.S. generals and admirals, Trump said, “We’ve taken in trillions of dollars. We’re rich again.” If he were right and the U.S. had actually taken in trillions of dollars since he began implementing his tariff scheme, we might have a very different kind of conversation. But in reality, tariff revenue was roughly $195 billion in the fiscal year that ended in late September. (That’s “billion” with a b, not “trillion” with a t.)

And while $195 billion might sound like an enormous amount of money, in the context of federal expenditures, that’s not even close to being enough to pay for all of the things the president has talked about.

In late July, Trump boasted online, “our Country is doing very well and can afford just about anything.” It’d be nice if that were true.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.