US political news website Politico denied allegations by President Donald Trump that it received millions of dollars in government funding, calling the claim “flat-out false.”
In a statement Thursday, Politico’s CEO Goli Sheikholeslami and Editor-in-Chief John F. Harris said the news outlet has “never received any government funding — no subsidies, no grants, no handouts. Not one dime, ever, in 18 years.”
The response follows a post by Trump on his Truth Social platform where he claimed that billions of dollars had been stolen from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), with some of it allegedly going to the media as a “payoff” for favorable coverage of Democrats.
Trump specifically named Politico, suggesting that it received $8 million.
Politico said that its subscription service, Politico Pro, is used by private companies and government agencies that pay for access to policy and legislative tracking tools.
“This is not funding. It is a transaction,” the statement said.
Trump’s claim gained traction after the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), billionaire Elon Musk, shared a post on X alleging that Politico had received payments through USAID.
In the same Truth Social post where Trump accused media organizations of "stealing" USAID, he questioned whether The New York Times, among others, receives funding from the organization.
In response, The New York Times in a statement said "there are no federal grants" made to the newspaper, and the funds received are payments in made return for subscriptions that government offices and agencies have purchased "to better understand the world."
It said the daily generated less than $2 million in the previous year from government subscriptions, which are provided at a reduced cost. According to the newspaper, over 1 million current and former military personnel and their families now have access to the Times through a single agreement.
The White House later said it was canceling such transactions.
