President Trump has targeted Reuters, Politico, and the New York Times as part of the administration’s cost-cutting measures and amid a funding controversy.
President Trump has demanded the return of millions of dollars in government funds received by Reuters, Politico, and the New York Times. In social media posts, Trump alleged that these funds were used to influence the media.
This demand is part of a broader Trump administration effort to reduce government spending. Elon Musk, the administration’s efficiency chief, previously called the media funding a significant waste of taxpayer money.
“Why was Politico paid millions of dollars for nothing. Buying the press??? Pay back the money to the taxpayers! How much has the failing New York Times paid? Is this the money that is keeping it open??? They are buying the press!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
”Looks like Radical Left Reuters was paid $9,000,000 by the Department of Defense to study ‘large scale social deception.’ Give back the money, now!” Trump added in another post.
Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) recently discovered a $9 million Pentagon contract with a Reuters subsidiary, active from 2018 to 2022, for projects titled Active Social Engineering Defense (ASED) and Large Scale Social Deception (LSD). Musk labeled Reuters “a total scam” following this discovery.
Reuters responded by stating the contract had been misrepresented on social media.
Trump previously criticized Politico, a publication he called a “left wing rag,” and the White House confirmed the termination of $8 million in government subscriptions to the outlet.
The president further asserted that billions of dollars were misspent by agencies like USAID to secure favorable media coverage for the Democrats. Several news organizations, including Politico, the New York Times, and the Associated Press, denied this claim. CNN referred to the accusations as a “false right-wing conspiracy theory.”