Donald Trump’s campaign has begun raising money for hurricane relief—but it’s not exactly clear how that money will be used.
Two weeks ago, the Trump campaign created a GoFundMe “as an official response for MAGA supporters to offer their financial assistance to their fellow Americans impacted by Hurricane Helene,” according to the fundraiser website.
A few days after the page went live, it was updated with a list of the charities that would receive the MAGA funds.
Fitting with Trump’s smears against federal relief efforts, three of the four charities listed—Samaritan’s Purse, Water Mission, and Mtn2Sea Ministries—are Christian or Evangelical NGOs. The fourth charity listed is the “Clinch Foundation,” which is likely the Clinch Memorial Hospital’s Foundation in Valdosta, Georgia.
The page did not, however, say how the campaign planned to disburse funds from the Trump campaign’s pot—more than $7.7 million as of Monday. The fundraiser has received donations of $500,000 each from Republican megadonors Steve and Andrea Wynn and former Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler.
While some of these charities have already received initial funds from the Trump campaign, it’s not clear how much has already been or will be disbursed.
Only Mtn2Sea Ministries has reported just how much it received, sharing that it got $25,000 from funds raised by Trump’s GoFundMe, in a Facebook post from the organization last week. “This is the only funds we expect to [receive] from this GoFundMe account and are very grateful for it to help us serve,” the post read.
So, where exactly is the other $7.65 million going? It’s still entirely unclear.
The GoFundMe’s latest update said simply, “We have made an initial disbursement and will continue providing more funds as support continues to come in.”
Late last month, when Samaritan’s Purse delivered supplies to Valdosta, Georgia, Trump promptly took credit for providing the “truckloads” of aid. In a less publicized moment of his speech, Trump revealed that the supplies had been provided by “Franklin’s incredible organization,” referring to Franklin Graham, the president of Samaritan’s Purse.
Samaritan’s Purse spokesperson Gabrielle Bouquet told the Associated Press that the organization was grateful for Trump’s “steadfast support of the work we do in Jesus’ name,” but she declined to say just how much the former president’s campaign fundraiser has contributed. Water Mission also confirmed that it had received funds but did not specify how much, according to the AP.
Trump previously used GoFundMe to raise money following his attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, in June. A spokesperson for GoFundMe told the AP that the majority of those funds had already been disbursed, mostly to the families of those injured and killed at the rally.
While Trump’s use of the crowdfunding site does not violate any campaign finance laws, it is unorthodox. “It’s pretty unusual and actually quite odd,” campaign finance attorney Brett Kappel told the AP.
Trump’s choice of subject is also strange, according to Kappel, who said political candidates often donate campaign funds to IRS-approved nonprofits.
Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, said that the Republican presidential nominee wanted to “help find a way for his supporters to give as much direct support as they can.”
Meanwhile, Trump has claimed to have donated $25 million of his own money to hurricane relief, but there is currently no actual evidence he did, according to Snopes.
