Over $400 million by Election Day
Trump says he has spent or will spend over $400 million on the midterms by Election Day, and that more than $300 million has gone already. The spending is reported to the Federal Election Commission. Do the reports show it?
The Quote
I have spent, or will be spending, over 400 Million Dollars by Election Day. More than 300 Million Dollars has already been spent on Advertising, Direct and Indirect Voter Contact, Rallies, Rally Arenas, Telerallies, Get Out the Vote Programs, Election Integrity, and more.
Truth Social, @realDonaldTrump, post 117474337843871362, Oct 20, 2026The post-general reports to the FEC, which cover Election Day
–
days to go, on 3 December 2026
Where it stands
- Not yet due More than $300 million spent by Oct 20. Already, as of Oct 20, 2026
- Not yet due Over $400 million spent by Election Day. Nov 3, 2026
The people
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Donald Trump
President of the United States
Made the claim on Truth Social on Oct 20, 2026.
Filings since 20 October 2026
Named in the record
What would settle it
"I have spent" does not say whose money. On Oct 5 he wrote that he would pay for a set of ads "myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.", the super PAC that raises for him, so this page reads the $400 million as money he spends himself or directs through committees he controls. MAGA Inc. files with the FEC every month. Its last full report, to Aug 31, shows $424.4 million raised, $32.4 million spent and $415.8 million in the bank. Since then it has reported $33.8 million of independent spending on ads, which must be reported within 48 hours, through Oct 13. Its report for September was due on Oct 20, a pre-general report covering Oct 1 to 14 is due Oct 22, and the post-general report covering Election Day is due Dec 3. Other committees of his file too, and gifts to the party committees show up in theirs. The first promise is tested as at Oct 20; the second at Election Day.
On the record since then
Last checked by the sweep: loading
- 2026-10-23 Filing The two committees' own reports are in, filed on Oct 20 and covering Sep 1 to Oct 14, and MAGA Inc. is the only donor that gave them cash. No Going Back PAC received $200 million from it in six payments between Sep 1 and Oct 13. Safety & Affordability PAC received $25 million in one payment on Sep 4. The only other receipts are in-kind media consulting worth $80,483.86 to each committee, from two groups called Securing American Greatness, Inc. and Securing American Greatness Again, Inc., care of the same Bulldog Compliance address. By Oct 14 No Going Back PAC had paid out $191.6 million, $187.8 million of it independent spending for and against candidates. Safety & Affordability PAC had paid out $17.2 million, $16.2 million of it independent spending. Between them the two had spent $208.8 million of the $225.2 million they took in, and had $16.4 million left. Spending after Oct 14 is not counted here; it shows in their 24- and 48-hour reports and, in full, in the post-general reports due Dec 3. Source
- 2026-10-22 Filing The two committees that took $225 million from MAGA Inc. have the same treasurer. Both registered on Sep 1, and their statements of organisation name Charles Gantt, care of Bulldog Compliance in Beverly, Massachusetts. Both list no connected organisation, and neither names Trump or MAGA Inc. Their 24- and 48-hour reports filed from Sep 23 to Oct 18 show where the spending goes, mostly TV and connected-TV ads, with mail and text messages. No Going Back PAC's run through Senate races, for Mike Rogers in Michigan, Jon Husted in Ohio, John E. Sununu in New Hampshire, Michael Whatley in North Carolina and Dan Sullivan in Alaska, and against Abdul El-Sayed, Sherrod Brown, Chris Pappas, Roy Cooper and Mary Peltola in the same states, and through dozens of House races. Safety & Affordability PAC's name 14 House candidates and oppose 11 of them. These reports do not show who gave the money each ad was paid with, so how much of it is MAGA Inc.'s cannot be read from them. The committees' own regular reports will list their donors. Source
- 2026-10-21 Filing Both missing reports landed on the evening of Oct 20, and the money moved fast. In September MAGA Inc. took in $24.0 million and paid out $201.0 million. $25.0 million of that was its own advertising. $150 million went to another super PAC, No Going Back PAC Inc. (C00960435), in four payments, and $25 million to a third, Safety & Affordability PAC Inc. (C00960443). From Oct 1 to 14 it paid out $75.5 million more: $50 million to No Going Back PAC, $16.2 million to a digital firm for what the report calls voting education, and the rest on ads and events. Cash fell from $415.8 million on Aug 31 to $164.3 million on Oct 14. Counted from Jan 1, the committee has paid out $300.5 million in 2026, which is above the $300 million he named. $225 million of it is money handed to the two other committees, so their own reports are where its use shows. The promise stays open until those are read. Source
- 2026-10-20 Statement Trump on Truth Social: "I have spent, or will be spending, over 400 Million Dollars by Election Day. More than 300 Million Dollars has already been spent". Checked at source. Watch opened. Source
- 2026-10-20 Filing What MAGA Inc. has reported so far. Its September monthly report, covering August, shows $424.4 million raised this cycle, $32.4 million spent and $415.8 million cash on hand on Aug 31. Its 48-hour reports of independent spending from Sep 1 to Oct 13 add up to $33.8 million across 73 items. The four largest are $5 million each, three of them against James Talarico in the Texas Senate race and one for Ken Paxton. Its report for September was due on Oct 20 and had not reached the FEC's public files that evening. Source
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