Trump repeats rightwing claim that USAid subscriptions to Politico were ‘payoffs’

Donald Trump has amplified a viral rightwing claim that media outlets, particularly Politico, were getting large payments from USAid, the foreign aid agency that his government is trying to shut down.

With ongoing efforts by Elon Musk and the “department of government efficiency” to shutter USAid, a false claim has gained traction on social media that Politico has received $8m from the foreign aid group. The money in question was payment for subscriptions to the news outlet from the entire federal government, not “payoffs” or even grants or other aid from USAid as rightwing accounts have claimed.

Early Thursday morning, Trump posted on Truth Social about the false claim.

“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,” Trump wrote.

Trump pointed to Politico, and questioned whether the New York Times or other news outlets received money as well. “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!” he wrote.

The payments that came from USAid directly to Politico were far smaller than Trump and his allies have claimed. Accounts on X used a government spending website to grab screenshots of payments and imply, or outright state, that payments the whole federal government made to the news agency for subscriptions over many years were from just USAid.

In reality, $44,000 of the payments to Politico came from USAid, for subscriptions to E&E, an energy-focused offshoot of the company, in 2023 and 2024, the Dispatch reported after reviewing the purchases.

These were not grants or aid – they were payments for subscriptions to Politico’s products, including the more costly Politico Pro, a premium service that offers exclusives, analysis and legislative tracking. The high cost for these subscriptions then became fodder for further misinformation, with some rightwing accounts claiming there had to be money laundering involved.

Elon Musk elevated the claims, as did the Heritage Foundation. Benny Johnson, a rightwing commentator with more than 3 million followers on X, called it the “biggest scandal in news media history”. The Republican representative Lauren Boebert claimed that Politico was attacking Musk because he was “exposing their grift”, and then people quickly noted her office paid for Politico as well. The rightwing radio host Dana Loesch called for people to protest outside Politico’s offices.

At the White House press briefing on Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt called out Politico directly.

“I was made aware of the funding from USAid to media outlets, including Politico, who I know has a seat in this room,” Leavitt said. “I can confirm that the more than $8m taxpayer dollars that have gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayer’s dime will no longer be happening. The [“department of government efficiency”] team is working on cancelling those payments now.”

In an internal note from Politico leaders to staff shared with the Guardian, the Politico Media Group CEO, Goli Sheikholeslami, and Politico’s global editor-in-chief, John Harris, sought to correct the record on the “spirited discussion” about the payments. The organization has “never been a beneficiary of government programs or subsidies – not one cent, ever, in 18 years”, they wrote.

“It is not uncommon for clients to wish to review and discuss their contracts at renewal time,” they wrote. “We always benefit from the feedback. We are happy to have such conversations with our federal government subscribers and are confident that most will see the continued value.”

The subscription payments to Politico weren’t the only ones under fire. Social media accounts also shared screenshots of payments to the Associated Press and the New York Times. Musk called the New York Times “government-funded media” after reposting screenshots of subscriptions the government bought from the outlet.

The BCC’s international charity called Media Action received funds from USAid that totaled about 8% of the charity’s income in 2023-24. The charity is “completely separate from BBC News”, it has said.