President Donald Trump and his allies celebrated the official launch of children investment accounts, also known as Trump Accounts, as a reinvigorated version of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s economic plan in the 1930s that revived the nation after the Great Depression.
“We’re thrilled to officially launch the Trump Accounts,” said Trump on Monday morning.
The president rang a bell at 9:30 a.m., opening the U.S. financial markets to mark the launch of the accounts, with several officials gathered in the Oval Office. They included Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett.
“This was the first-ever joint bell ringing between the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, and hopefully it won’t be the last,” Trump said.
The Trump Accounts were originally titled “Money Accounts for Growth and Advancement” and were part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that passed last summer. The accounts are available to any child under 18 with a Social Security number. Every eligible child born between January 2025 and December 2028 has received or will receive a $1,000 contribution from the Treasury. The administration said over 500,000 U.S. children received the $1,000 contribution on July 4.
Texas billionaires Michael and Susan Dell, who attended the Oval Office event, previously donated $6.25 billion toward 25 million Trump Accounts. The Dell donations will put $250 toward accounts for children ages 10 and younger who do not qualify for the one-time contribution. To qualify for the Dell donation, the children must live in an area with a median household income below $150,000.
The funds in the Trump Accounts cannot be tapped until age 18. Parents, grandparents, and others can contribute up to $5,000 a year until the year before the child turns 18.
“Trump Accounts are in many ways Donald Trump’s New Deal,” Cruz said during his remarks Monday. Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930s helped put Americans to work as the Depression wreaked havoc on the nation. “But instead of having government taking care of everyone, Trump Accounts are about making every child and every American a capitalist. Every one of our kids is now going to be an owner of the biggest producers in our country.”
The Trump administration has tried to refocus on its economic policy record after signing a memorandum of understanding with Iran last month. Following the signing of the MOU, gas prices have fallen in the United States as the midterm elections approach.
Cruz’s comments were also a noted jab at Democrats who have seen socialist candidates take down incumbent House members in primaries this year, oftentimes aided by Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York.
Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) in primaries last month. Another DSA-aligned candidate, Melat Kiros, beat U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette in a Colorado House primary last week.
Trump also jabbed at socialists and communists while touting the Trump Accounts on Monday.
TRUMP ACCOUNTS OFFICIALLY LAUNCH ONE YEAR AFTER BEING SIGNED INTO LAW
“It’s going to teach children to be entrepreneurial, as opposed to the threat of communism that you’re seeing,” Trump told reporters.
“This is not social Democrats by the way … ‘We’re social democrats,’ they say. They’re not social, they’re communists,” Trump added. “They want to destroy our country. We’re not going to let that happen, but this helps, even from the parents’ standpoint. They see their child getting richer and richer.”