President Donald Trump hasn’t spent a penny of his 10-figure wealth to boost fellow Republicans this cycle.
A Washington Sun review of Federal Election Commission records indicates Trump hasn’t donated to any candidate committee, national party committee or super PAC during the 2026 election cycle, through Oct. 14.
There’s no public indication that Trump, who’s grown significantly richer during his second presidential term, has contributed his own money since then, either.
This runs counter to the president’s own statements that he planned to shell out contributions in the midterms as his party seeks to retain control of Congress.
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“I’m going to be making contributions to various campaigns and people that I think are good, Republicans that I think are good, people that I think are going to win, or can win, or are close to winning,” Trump told Washington Sun reporter Jasmine Wright in September after she asked about his MAGA Inc. super PAC operation. “I’m going to spend whatever amount of money necessary to try and help us.”
Instead, campaign spending comes from others’ money. On-again, off-again Trump ally Elon Musk, meanwhile, has set records with his election-spending largesse.
At MAGA Inc., the super PAC filled with hundreds of millions of dollars that Trump says is “money I control,” top individual donors this election include Dallas Mavericks owner Miriam Adelson, financier Jeff Yass, businesswoman Diane Hendricks, pipeline magnate Kelcy Warren, Musk and the cryptocurrency-investing Winklevoss brothers, Tyler and Cameron.
Trump’s own name is conspicuously missing from the list.
Former FEC chairs Trevor Potter, Republican, and Ellen Weintraub, a Democrat, argued in a recent Washington Post op-ed that Trump’s assertion that he controls MAGA Inc.’s money “flies in the face of U.S. campaign-finance laws” that prohibit officeholders from directing the actions of super PACs.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment about why Trump hasn’t personally made political donations during the 2026 election or whether he would in the race’s final hours.
In a statement to The Sun, MAGA Inc. spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer said: “President Donald Trump is responsible for raising hundreds of millions of dollars in support of Republican candidates.”
Trump has certainly been generous to Republicans with his time, if not with his estimated $7 billion.
He’s conducted more than 30 in-person election rallies and political events since Oct. 1, hopscotching the country in Air Force One and visiting Alaska, Montana, Nevada, Texas, Nebraska, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina and several other states. On social media, he posts frequently about supporting like-minded Republicans.
When it comes to funding his political interests, Trump used to put his money where his mouth is.
During the early months of his 2016 presidential run, Trump poured $66 million of his own cash into his campaign operation, and he’d frequently boast about it.
“I don’t need anybody’s money. It’s nice. I don’t need anybody’s money. I’m using my own money … I’m not using donors. I don’t care. I’m really rich,” Trump said during his campaign announcement in 2015.
“You know the nice part about me? I don’t need anybody’s money,” he declared weeks later.
“I am self-funding my campaign — putting up my own money, not controlled,” Trump tweeted in 2016.
But Trump soon stopped dipping into his own reserves and self-funding his own campaigns. He eventually quit donating to others’ campaigns, too.
Other billionaire politicians have used their personal fortunes differently this year.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker — a potential 2028 presidential candidate — is donating $40 million to boost Democrats in this year’s midterms.
Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor who ran for president in 2020, has pledged $80 million toward the same goal.
Some were unsurprised by Trump’s lack of spending.
“He has such a track record of being a cheapskate. Par for the course,” said Holli Woodings, vice president of government affairs for Patriotic Millionaires, a nonpartisan organization of wealthy individuals who advocate for an equitable economy.
“Trump,” Woodings said, “is using other people’s money.”
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