United States President Donald Trump on Thursday (Feb 6) reiterated his claim that billions of dollars had "been stolen at the USAID, and other agencies" and given "to the fake news media" to write favourable stories about Democrats. In a social media post, Trump alleged that US-based news website Politico had received $8 million. The website has denied allegations, calling them "flat-out false". 

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On his official Truth Social account, Trump posted: "LOOKS LIKE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAVE BEEN STOLLEN [sic] 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!" he added. 

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This came hours after the White House announced that it would stop paying for Politico subscriptions in the aftermath of claims that the United States Agency for International Development subsidised the media outlet. 

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that she was "made aware of the funding of USAID to media outlets, including Politico" and that the media outlet was paid more than $8 million by the federal government. 

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Leavitt added that the government was "essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayers' dime". 

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She added that the DOGE team, which is Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency led by billionaire Elon Musk, is working on "cancelling those payments now". 

USAspending.gov, which is a government website that tracks federal spending, revealed that in 2024, the government agencies paid a total of almost $8 million for Politico subscriptions and products, including $24,000 spent by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on subscriptions. 

As per the data, federal agencies also paid for subscriptions to other news outlets, such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal in 2014. 

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Politico denies allegations 

Politico's editor-in-chief John Harris wrote a letter to the staff on Wednesday, saying, "POLITICO has never been a beneficiary of government programs or subsidies — not one cent, ever, in 18 years." 

The "overwhelming majority" of Politico Pro subscriptions come from the private sector, Harris further said. 

(With inputs from agencies)