CEO of Politico’s parent company to Trump: ‘It’s not subsidies; it’s capitalism’

By Liam Reilly, CNN

(CNN) — The chief executive of Politico’s parent company pushed back hard against a debunked right-wing conspiracy theory that has been buoyed by the Trump administration concerning the publication, telling CNN that Politico has never accepted any form of federal funding.

“Politico, since its launch 18 years ago, has never taken a cent of government subsidies or state funding,” said Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer, in a yet-to-air interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. Döpfner, who owns a 22% stake in the German publishing giant, called the Trump administration’s claims that Politico had accepted USAID funding “absolutely wrong.”

Döpfner said a bogus far-right conspiracy theory claiming Politico has received over $8 million in USAID funds was a “fundamental misunderstanding” of the outlet’s business model.

“So, people are paying for that [Politico Pro] because they need the service,” Döpfner said. “It’s not subsidies, it’s capitalism.”

Politico offers much of its content for free, but it also offers a premium subscription model — Politico Pro — which comes with a hefty price tag. Its free offering is aimed at a wider audience, and the outlet’s premium subscription, which offers real-time data and legislative analyses, primarily caters to the private sector and government officials.

Politico Pro currently includes some 5,000 subscribers, around 6% of which are government subscribers, per Döpfner. And of that 6%, “a tiny little fraction” is from USAID subscribers, he said.

Though reporters quickly pointed out that the funds were not a federal handout, the White House on Wednesday announced it would cancel its Politico subscriptions, with Karoline Leavitt, the Trump administration’s press secretary, buoying the false narrative. Leavitt on Wednesday said that taxpayers had been “essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayers’ dime.”

“The DOGE team is working on canceling those payments now,” Leavitt said on Wednesday.

President Trump Thursday morning further perpetuated the misinformation, posting on his Truth Social platform, “LOOKS LIKE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAVE BEEN STOLLEN AT USAID, AND OTHER AGENCIES, MUCH OF IT GOING TO THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA AS A ‘PAYOFF’ FOR CREATING GOOD STORIES ABOUT THE DEMOCRATS.”

Döpfner rejected that falsehood: “This whole thing is not a scandal,” he told Zakaria.

If Politico’s premium subscription is no longer helping make the government efficient, Döpfner said the government has a prerogative to end payments, saying, “that’s the free market.” But he also said it’s important to remember that federal employees are subscribed to other news outlets.

“They also subscribed to cable networks or they subscribe to Bloomberg Terminals,” Döpfner said. “I mean, then the whole Bloomberg business or all other companies that would have contracts with government employees would be considered to be subsidized.”

That may be changing, although it remains to be seen whether the government follows through on its cancellation threats. Since Trump’s morning Truth Social post, the White House has directed the General Services Administration to “cancel every single media contract today,” calling out Politico, BBC, E&E News by Politico, and Bloomberg by name, according to Axios.

Although the email obtained by Axios specifies directions for the GSA, it’s unknown whether other agencies have received similar instructions.

Döpfner is no stranger to political attacks. Axel Springer, which acquired Politico for more than $1 billion in 2021, owns several other media publishers, including Politico Europe, Business Insider, and a handful of German publications. In Europe, the German publishing giant’s media holdings are known for their conservative lean.

“In the United States, we are perceived to be part of a left-wing conspiracy,” Döpfner said. “For me, it’s important — as long as we are criticized by the left, by the right, that’s fine. When only one party is criticizing you, then I shall get worried.”

But it’s still worrying that the outlet — a Beltway favorite across the aisle whose Playbook is considered by many in government to be a must-read — is facing unsubstantiated attacks. In Thursday’s edition of Politico’s Playbook PM, the outlet continued to to set the record straight.

“We have never received any government funding — no subsidies, no grants, no handouts. Not one dime, ever, in 18 years,” Bethany Irvine wrote.

Any government agencies that subscribe to Politico Pro do so via standard procurement processes, Irvine wrote, calling the move “a transaction” and “not funding.”

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