Trump Manages To Get His Name Plastered Onto Direct Payment Checks

President Donald Trump got his wish: The direct payment checks that many Americans will soon receive as part of the government’s COVID-19 relief package will bear Trump’s name on them.

According to the Washington Post, those who will receive the payments in the form of paper checks will see “President Donald J. Trump” in the memo line underneath the words “Economic Impact Payment,” per the Treasury Department’s order to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The paper checks will go to the 70 million Americans for whom the IRS does not have banking information next week. Those who will receive the checks via direct deposit will not see Trump’s name stamped anywhere on the payment.

Senior IRS officials told the Post that the unprecedented move, of which the IRS tech team was not informed until Tuesday, could potentially delay when people will receive the paper checks, though the Treasury denied that would be the case.

“Economic Impact Payment checks are scheduled to go out on time and exactly as planned—there is absolutely no delay whatsoever,” a department spokesperson said in a statement to the Post.

Trump’s insistence to have his name attached to the checks and thereby take credit for the payments is a clear effort to boost his political image as the November elections draw near. As the Post notes, it was Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) who came up with the idea, not Trump.

Individual taxpayers making less than $75,001 will receive $1,200, while married couples making $150,000 or less will receive $2,400. The payments decrease as the taxpayer’s income figure increases.