Just hours after he signed a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill to provide financial relief to businesses and individuals hurt by the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump made it clear that he intends to try and take credit for the one-time cash payments that will be distributed to Americans as soon as next month.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump is insisting his signature must be the one that appears on each of the checks mailed to taxpayers:

“Mr. Trump has told people he wants his signature to appear on the direct payment checks that will go out to many Americans in the coming weeks, according to an administration official. Normally, a civil servant — the disbursing officer for the payment center — would sign federal checks, said Don Hammond, a former senior Treasury Department official.”

When he signed the bill in the Oval Office Friday afternoon, the president made sure and let reporters know that he now sees the law as some sort of signature accomplishment, even though he did nothing other than affix his signature to the legislation. The Daily Beast notes:

“While signing the bill into law in the Oval Office on Friday, the president appeared to express awe at the price tag attached to the legislation, calling it a ‘great honor’ and saying, ‘I never signed anything with a T on it.’ Trump, who has faced criticism recently for what some see as overly optimistic assessments about the coronavirus pandemic, went on to predict a ‘rebound like we have never seen before’ by the end of the year. The legislation he signed includes expanded unemployment benefits, direct cash payments to every American earning less than $99,000 a year, and billions in job retention loans for small businesses.”

As it turns out, however, Trump may wind up being disappointed, as many of the payments which will be sent to taxpayers will be in the form of direct deposits which don’t carry any signature. That probably means between now and November 3, anytime the president opens his mouth, he’ll be sure to let us all know that we need to thank him for the pittance we’re getting while corporations get billions.

Featured Image Via NBC News