Trump Pushes Bogus Claim — Debunked By His Press Secretary — USAID Funded Politico: ‘BIGGEST SCANDAL OF THEM ALL’
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
President Donald Trump accused the US Agency for International Development (USAID) of giving “BILLIONS OF DOLLARS” to “FAKE NEWS MEDIA” in order to push positive coverage stories about Democrats.
The misleading claim that USAID had funneled $8 million of grant money to Politico was first made and shared by several big-name MAGA influencers on Wednesday before it was revealed that the outgoings were not grant funding but expenditure for Politico PRO.
Federal employees and Washington lobbyists widely subscribe to Politico’s product because it provides some of the most dedicated coverage of legislation and close-up analysis of technical and regulatory work across departments. Records show that USAID spent a total of $44,000 on the subscription over two years, but across all government agencies and departments, it had drawn $8 million from fiscal year 2016 to 2025.
Yet as the story spread online, some conservatives pointed to critical coverage of Trump on the Politico website and called it “corruption” in claiming the publication was being given cash to produce reporting that would “destroy the MAGA Movement.”
On Wednesday night, Politico’s CEO Goli Sheikholeslami and editor-in-chief John Harris issued a joint internal memo that the organization had “never” been a beneficiary of government funding and that the success of its subscriptions was evidence of the “value” of its journalism.
At a White House press briefing the same day, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters that she had been briefed on USAID expenditures related to media outlets, including Politico. She clarified how the money was not grant related but spent to “essentially subsidize subscriptions to Politico.” She added that this was done “on the American taxpayers’ dime” and the money would no longer be allocated for that purpose.
This didn’t stop Trump, however, who on Thursday morning took to Truth Social for a furious cap-locked rant in which he repeated the misleading allegation in an attack on USAID, Democratic rivals, and the media – asking aloud what other outlets had received funds.
LOOKS LIKE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAVE BEEN STOLLEN AT USAID, AND OTHER AGENCIES, MUCH OF IT GOING TO THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA AS A “PAYOFF” FOR CREATING GOOD STORIES ABOUT THE DEMOCRATS. THE LEFT WING “RAG,” KNOWN AS “POLITICO,” SEEMS TO HAVE RECEIVED $8,000,000. Did the New York Times receive money??? Who else did??? THIS COULD BE THE BIGGEST SCANDAL OF THEM ALL, PERHAPS THE BIGGEST IN HISTORY! THE DEMOCRATS CAN’T HIDE FROM THIS ONE. TOO BIG, TOO DIRTY!
