Organizations backing President Donald Trump’s bid for re-election last year pumped some $1.7 million back into properties and businesses he owns, as well as to his family members, according to research by The New York Times.
The Times conducted the research by following the spending of four groups: the Trump campaign, the Trump Victory committee, the Republican National Committee, and the Trump Make America Great Again Committee.
In just the fourth quarter of last year, FEC filings showed that the Trump campaign funneled $194,247.57 toward Trump’s private interests, while the other three groups supporting his campaign made 150 separate payments to Trump-owned properties and businesses for an additional $600,000.
“When there is a substantial amount of money that is going to properties owned by the candidate, it could raise questions about personal use,” Brendan Fischer, director of federal and FEC reforms at the Campaign Legal Center, told Vox, especially since Trump has refused to divest himself from his own business interests.
However, he stressed that proving illegality is difficult, because “The FEC’s approach to this kind of thing has generally been pretty hands off. That unless the amount of the payment is so oddly excessive, they’re not going to scrutinize whether the campaign could have gotten a better deal elsewhere.”
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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