• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
LeadershipPolitics

Trump’s MAGA Rallies Cost Big Bucks and Cities Are Stuck Footing the Bills

By
Erin Corbett
Erin Corbett
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Erin Corbett
Erin Corbett
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 15, 2019, 2:00 PM ET

President Trump’s campaign rallies are racking up big bills, and he’s reportedly not paying them.

A new investigation from NBC News and the Center for Public Integrity found the Trump campaign owes city governments across the country upwards of $800,000 for police and public safety costs from his events.

The largest invoice to date comes from El Paso, Texas, where the president held a campaign rally in February. Trump still owes the city $470,417 for the event, the invoice shows.

Some invoices date back to 2016, before Trump was elected president. His 2016 campaign skipped out on municipal public safety bills from Green Bay and Eau Claire, Wisconsin; Tucson, Arizona; Burlington, Vermont and Spokane, Washington, according to the report.

Another five cities, including El Paso; Mesa, Arizona; Billings, Montana; Erie, Pennsylvania; and Lebanon, Ohio, are owed a combined $629,015.88.

While some local governments remain hopeful that the Trump campaign will pay its bills, others don’t expect the issue to be resolved any time soon.

“Let’s be honest, when does Trump ever pay his bills?” Spokane City Councilmember Kate Burke told NBC News.

One of the biggest issues preventing these cities from being reimbursed is, in many cases, there are no signed contracts between the municipality and the Trump campaign, according to the report. Cities sent law enforcement to Trump events as a required safety measure, but also because the Secret Service asked for additional security.

The Trump campaign could face legal troubles for stiffing the bill.

According to the Federal Election Commission, “A political committee shall report a disputed debt … if the creditor has provided something of value to the political committee.” (The webpage has been removed, but is archived here.)

Trump’s campaign has not reported any debts to municipal governments or their respective police departments, which is likely a violation of federal campaign finance laws, election law lawyers told NBC News.

Democratic lawmakers have taken issue with the president not paying his bills, too. California Rep. Zoe Lofgren, chairwoman of the Committee on House Administration called Trump’s actions “outrageous,” and added that “taxpayers deserve to know to what extent they are subsidizing the president’s political activities.”

More must-read stories from Fortune:

—Democrats hold out on USMCA as Trump walks back Mexico tariffs

—The story behind the Baby Trump balloon

—FCC takes major steps toward limiting robocalls and scammers

—Michael Bloomberg pledges $500 million to combat climate change

—Listen to our new audio briefing, Fortune 500 Daily

Get up to speed on your morning commute with Fortune’s CEO Daily newsletter.

About the Author
By Erin Corbett
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

gm
North AmericaAutos
GM just boosted its U.S. manufacturing spend to $6 billion in one year—and it may be returning to the idea that made it great
By Nick LichtenbergApril 30, 2026
5 hours ago
Premium card perks are ‘designed to create a win-win-win for everyone’ but customers are paying with heavy annual fees and data
Personal FinancePersonal Finance Evergreen
Premium card perks are ‘designed to create a win-win-win for everyone’ but customers are paying with heavy annual fees and data
By Catherina GioinoApril 30, 2026
6 hours ago
Girl reading in a library
SuccessEducation
Public schools in Texas banned cellphones. One district has already seen 200,000 more library books checked out
By Preston ForeApril 30, 2026
6 hours ago
Bill Perkins, founder of Skylar Capital
SuccessWealth
Multimillionaire hedge fund manager Bill Perkins says money should ‘drive your fulfillment while you’re alive’—so he’s spending it all before he dies
By Emma BurleighApril 30, 2026
6 hours ago
capuano
C-SuiteHospitality
Marriott CEO on why you have to defend both DEI and ICE’s right to a hotel room: Dictating values is a ‘bad place for the country’
By Nick LichtenbergApril 30, 2026
7 hours ago
AstraZeneca CFO Aradhana Sarin
BankingCFO Daily
How AstraZeneca’s 17,000 AI-certified employees are helping it reach a ‘stretch goal’ of $80 billion in revenue
By Sheryl EstradaApril 30, 2026
10 hours ago

Most Popular

Apple cofounder Ronald Wayne—whose stake would be worth up to $400 billion had he not sold it in 1976—says that at 91, he has no regrets
Success
Apple cofounder Ronald Wayne—whose stake would be worth up to $400 billion had he not sold it in 1976—says that at 91, he has no regrets
By Preston ForeApril 27, 2026
3 days ago
Google Cloud revenue is now 18% of Alphabet's business. Is this the beginning of the end of Google's search identity?
Big Tech
Google Cloud revenue is now 18% of Alphabet's business. Is this the beginning of the end of Google's search identity?
By Alexei OreskovicApril 29, 2026
21 hours ago
‘They left me no choice’: Powell isn’t going anywhere—blocking Trump from another Fed appointee
Banking
‘They left me no choice’: Powell isn’t going anywhere—blocking Trump from another Fed appointee
By Eva RoytburgApril 29, 2026
1 day ago
Jamie Dimon gets candid about national debt: ‘There will be a bond crisis, and then we’ll have to deal with it’
Economy
Jamie Dimon gets candid about national debt: ‘There will be a bond crisis, and then we’ll have to deal with it’
By Eleanor PringleApril 29, 2026
1 day ago
‘The cost of compute is far beyond the costs of the employees’: Nvidia executive says right now AI is more expensive than paying human workers
AI
‘The cost of compute is far beyond the costs of the employees’: Nvidia executive says right now AI is more expensive than paying human workers
By Sasha RogelbergApril 28, 2026
3 days ago
With no end in sight, Trump considers new options in Iran war—including the ‘Dark Eagle’ hypersonic missile
Big Tech
With no end in sight, Trump considers new options in Iran war—including the ‘Dark Eagle’ hypersonic missile
By Jim EdwardsApril 30, 2026
12 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.