By Charles Switzer
12:46pm PST, Feb 20, 2025
Trump Revives False Claims at Investor Event
During an investor event in Miami on Wednesday, February 19, President
Donald Trump once again repeated the false claim that the U.S. government planned to spend millions of dollars on
condoms for Gaza. Speaking before an audience that included members of Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund — known for its $2 billion dollar investment in
Jared Kushner's firm — Trump rattled off a series of government spending figures, some of which were false.
Among them was the debunked assertion that the U.S. had allocated "$100 million for condoms for Hamas." Despite
Elon Musk himself admitting that his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) got the claim wrong, Trump doubled down, even asking the room, "Does everybody know what a condom is?" before repeating the fictitious spending figure.
Here's what happened.
MORE:
Follow Wonderwall on MSN for more fun celebrity & entertainment photo galleries and content
Musk's DOGE Walks Back False Spending Figures
The condom funding claim originated from a false report by White House Press Secretary
Karoline Leavitt, who last month alleged that DOGE had uncovered a "$50 million line item" for condoms in Gaza.
Trump quickly seized on the misinformation, exaggerating the figure to $100 million dollars and falsely suggesting the supplies were specifically meant for Hamas. However, the claim was later debunked, with fact-checkers clarifying that no such spending existed.
Despite this, Trump reiterated the falsehood to his investor audience, seemingly disregarding Musk's acknowledgment that the claim was inaccurate.
DOGE's Exaggerated Savings Under Scrutiny
Trump's misleading statements about government spending come as Musk's DOGE faces increased scrutiny over its claimed
budget-cutting successes. On Monday, DOGE boasted on its website that it had saved $8 billion dollars by canceling a government contract for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
However,
The New York Times later revealed that the actual figure was $8 million dollars — a staggering overstatement. Additionally, DOGE has claimed a total of $55 billion dollars in savings, though the administration has failed to provide detailed breakdowns of how these numbers were calculated.
Fact-Checking Trump's Financial Claims
Trump's Miami remarks fit a broader pattern of exaggerating or misrepresenting federal spending figures. While it is not uncommon for politicians to highlight wasteful spending, Trump's repeated promotion of debunked claims — especially those involving Musk's DOGE — raises questions about the administration's commitment to transparency.
As watchdogs continue to investigate the group's claimed savings, Trump's reliance on inaccurate figures to criticize federal spending is likely to face continued pushback from fact-checkers and media outlets alike.
