GOP groups spent nearly $3 million at Trump businesses
Spending has shifted from Trump's Washington hotel to Mar-a-Lago since his return to office.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
GOP groups spent nearly $3 million at Trump businesses
Photograph: Joe.My.God. (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Republican campaigns and political action committees have spent nearly $3 million at Donald Trump's businesses since he returned to office.
- Spending at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort has more than tripled, adjusted for inflation, compared to the same period of his first term.
- The focus of this spending has shifted from Trump's Washington hotel to his Mar-a-Lago property.
- An NRCC spokesperson stated that events are held where donors wish to attend, identifying Mar-a-Lago as such a location.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 7 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
65/100
Hype
45/100
7 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
Only 1 of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Republican campaigns and political action committees have spent nearly $3 million at Donald Trump's businesses since he returned to office, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. This spending has continued even after Trump's Washington hotel ceased operations under the Trump Organization. Instead, funds from Republican groups have largely shifted to Mar-a-Lago, Trump's property in Florida.
Spending at the Mar-a-Lago club has more than tripled, adjusted for inflation, when compared with the same period during Trump's first term. The expenditures have included fundraisers, meals, and accommodation at Trump resorts. Campaigns have also purchased merchandise from Trump's shops and entertained donors at his properties. Lawmakers and lobbyists have travelled significant distances to spend money at businesses owned by the former president.
Disagreement on spending shift
The Washington Post reports that spending at Trump's properties has shifted from his Washington hotel to Mar-a-Lago. Yonhap News Agency, however, notes that while the Washington Trump International Hotel was the primary location for spending in Trump's first term, the focus has now moved to Mar-a-Lago. Yonhap also states that overall spending has slightly decreased in the second term compared to the first, but the continued expenditure demonstrates a financial link between Republican political groups and Trump's private businesses.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated reports mention the specific dollar amounts spent at Trump's golf courses in Los Angeles, Washington D.C. vicinity, or near Mar-a-Lago, as detailed by Yonhap News Agency. The right-rated report does not mention the specific claim from The Washington Post that spending at Trump's properties has shifted from his Washington hotel to Mar-a-Lago.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 26 Oct 2026, 22:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports led with the nearly $3 million spent by Republican campaigns and political action committees at Donald Trump's businesses since his return to office. These reports highlighted that spending at Mar-a-Lago has more than tripled, adjusted for inflation, compared to the same period of his first term. They also noted the shift in spending from Trump's Washington hotel to Mar-a-Lago. Joe.My.God. quoted an NRCC spokesperson saying, "We hold events where donors want to show up, and that’s Mar-a-Lago," adding, "Yeah, have you considered that’s literally the problem?" Alternet's headline stated, "Trump’s private business empire cashes in on GOP loyalty: report."
Centre
1 rated outlet
- The centre-rated report led with the Washington Post's finding that Republican campaigns and political action committees have spent nearly $3 million at President Donald Trump’s businesses since he returned to office. It noted that this spending has continued even after Trump’s Washington hotel stopped operating under the Trump Organization, with GOP money shifting to Mar-a-Lago instead.
Right
1 rated outlet
- The right-rated report from Yonhap News Agency stated that Republican campaigns and political action committees have spent $2.9 million at Trump's businesses since the start of 2025, with the majority of funds going to Mar-a-Lago and Trump National Doral. It reported that spending at Mar-a-Lago has more than tripled, adjusted for inflation, compared to the first term. The report included a statement from an NRCC spokesperson, Mike Marinella, who told The Washington Post, "We hold events where donors want to show up, and that’s Mar-a-Lago," adding that "those events raised far more than they cost."
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover GOP groups spent nearly $3 million at Trump businesses?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 67% are rated left, 16% are rated centre, 17% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 7. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is GOP groups spent nearly $3 million at Trump businesses left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of GOP groups spent nearly $3 million at Trump businesses biased?
- GOP groups spent nearly $3 million at Trump businesses is one event reported by 7 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting GOP groups spent nearly $3 million at Trump businesses?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered GOP groups spent nearly $3 million at Trump businesses?
- 7 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How much have Republican groups spent at Donald Trump's businesses?
- Republican campaigns and political action committees have spent nearly $3 million at Donald Trump's businesses since he returned to office. This spending has been analysed by The Washington Post.
- Where has the spending by Republican groups occurred?
- The spending has largely shifted from Trump's Washington hotel to his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida. Spending at Mar-a-Lago has more than tripled, adjusted for inflation, compared to the same period of his first term.
- What is the Republican National Committee's (RNC) stance on this spending?
- An NRCC spokesperson stated that events are held where donors wish to attend, identifying Mar-a-Lago as such a location. The spokesperson also indicated that these events were successful in raising more funds than they cost.
Read it at the source
7 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- Republicans Are Spending Millions At Mar-A-Lago (opens Joe.My.God. in a new tab)
Joe.My.God. — is Joe.My.God. biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Republicans yank their money from Trump’s businesses as his approval craters: report (opens Raw Story in a new tab)
- Trump’s private business empire cashes in on GOP loyalty: report (opens Alternet in a new tab)
- Trump’s D.C. hotel is gone. Republicans still pay millions to his businesses. (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
The Washington Post — is The Washington Post biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
1Right
1Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
