Trump Boosts Bogus Claim that Charity for Wildfire Victims Was a ‘Democrat Scam’
What happened: Conservatives, including President Donald Trump, are falsely claiming that $100 million raised by the FireAid benefit concert for victims of the January 2025 California wildfires is missing in a “Democrat inspired scam.”
Context: Devastating wildfires swept across Southern California in January 2025, leaving at least 29 people dead, and causing $164 billion in property damage and capital losses, according to a February 2025 UCLA report.
On Jan. 30, 2025, California charity FireAid hosted a benefit concert featuring music artists, including Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder, to raise money for the victims. The concert raised $100 million, according to ABC News.
A closer look: Suspicion over the funds emerged after former reality TV star Spencer Pratt, who appeared on the show “The Hills,” posted a TikTok video on May 24 about FireAid with the caption, “Where is the 100 million dollars ????!!” Pratt did not provide evidence of any missing funds. The claim reemerged in July 2025, when Trump raised the issue on Truth Social.
Trump wrote in a July 25 Truth Social post: “‘FIREAID’ IS A TOTAL DISASTER. Looks LIKE ANOTHER DEMOCRAT INSPIRED SCAM. 100 MILLION DOLLARS IS MISSING.” The post received 31,600 likes and 9,000 reposts in three days. Trump later told reporters that he had referred the matter to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Conservative commentator and comedian Kevin Dalton said in an apparently sarcastic July 27 X post: “[California Gov.] Gavin Newsom is going to look into the missing $100 million from FireAid, right after he finds the $100 billion from the High Speed Rail, the $37 billion from homelessness, the $40 billion for affordable housing, the $5 billion for water storage, and the $500 million to stop the flow of raw sewage from Mexico.” The post received 1.1 million views and 19,000 likes in one day.
Actually: The funds are not “missing,” according to the charity and reporting from the Los Angeles Times.
In a statement reacting to Trump’s post, FireAid provided a list of nonprofits and charities it said had collectively received about $75 million in grant money from the charity. “The grants have been distributed to more than 160 frontline nonprofits, schools, and local organizations,” FireAid stated, adding that investment bank Goldman Sachs vetted these organizations.
FireAid also said that it would distribute the remaining $25 million raised by the concert by the end of 2025, adding that accounting firm KPMG will audit its activities after all funds have been distributed.
The Los Angeles Times reported in July 2025 that over 100 organizations had received FireAid funds. Executives at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, The Change Reaction, Team Rubicon, YMCA Los Angeles, and numerous other organizations confirmed their receipt of funds from FireAid. There are no reports or evidence that any of the funds are missing.
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