Giving $5,000 to every American would cost $1.35 trillion.

Posted by The Ebro, Laura, Rosenberg Show, Sep 12, 2026Checked Nov 2, 2026

Polygraph verdictMixed

Sources: 4 contradict2 support3 context
Said: 1 time·
Confidence: 60%

The Ebro, Laura, Rosenberg ShowSep 12, 2026

The $1.35 trillion figure matches the Penn Wharton Budget Model estimate for paying $5,000 to the full adult population, but other sources put the cost at about $1.2 trillion for adult citizens only, and CBS reports a $1.2–1.35 trillion range.

A detail. The sources confirm the gist; the verdict faults a detail such as a date, number or wording.

We could not find who says this in the episode. Shown here; not scored.

What we found

Contradicts. Using adult citizens only, several sources put the cost lower: about $1.2 trillion (Yahoo Finance, FactCheck.org via MoneyTalksNews, Yahoo/CNBC) and about $1.23 trillion (IBTimes, based on Census data).[2][3][4][5]

Supports. Kent Smetters of the Penn Wharton Budget Model estimated $5,000 to the full U.S. adult population would cost about $1.35 trillion, as reported by Newsweek and Fortune.[5][6]

Supports. The Independent calculated that $5,000 to each of roughly 270 million adults would cost around $1.35 trillion.[7]

Context. CBS/TNND reports a range of $1.2 to $1.35 trillion depending on eligibility, and says the cost could be lower with income cutoffs.[8]

Context. The proposal covers adults, not every American, and the administration has not released eligibility rules, so the scope of 'every American' is looser than the sources' population figures.[1][6][9]