America First Audit

About this audit and its evidence

Trump sold “America First.” This record traces how public money, power, and risk moved toward family businesses, donors, favored firms, and foreign governments: and what workers, ranchers, retirees, patients, veterans, and small investors were left to absorb.

Office of the New York Attorney General: AG James Secures Court Order Against Donald J. Trump, Trump Children, And Trump FoundationAdmissions and restrictions sections
New York State Law Reporting Bureau: Matter of People v Trump, 2019 NY Slip Op 29336Findings concerning the January 28, 2016 veterans fundraiser
The American Presidency Project: 2024 Republican Party PlatformChapter Five, sections 1 and 3, and Core Promise 10
The American Presidency Project: 2024 Republican Party PlatformCore Promise 3; Chapter Five, section 1
The American Presidency Project: 2024 Republican Party PlatformTwenty promises, items 7-9; chapters 2, 9, and 10
Roll Call Factbase: Donald Trump speech at the Bitcoin Conference in NashvilleCrypto-capital and presidential-advisory-council remarks
Roll Call Factbase: Donald Trump Campaign Rally in Detroit, MichiganTranscript search: 'working with Elon Musk' and 'cut trillions'
Associated Press: Trump promotes new meme coin before taking office on pro-crypto agendaTrump's promotional post, official allocation and disclaimer
The White House: Establishing And Implementing The President’s “Department Of Government Efficiency”Sections 1-4
The White House: Granting Pardons And Commutation Of Sentences For Certain Offenses Relating To The Events At Or Near The United States Capitol On January 6, 2021Named 14 commutations, unconditional pardon for all other convicted individuals, dismissal directive
The White House: Fact Check: President Trump Will Always Protect Social Security, Medicare, and MedicaidOpening claim and first bullet
The White House: Regulating Imports With a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Practices That Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade DeficitsSections 2-3 and Annex I
The White House: President Donald J. Trump Restores Common Sense to Federal ProcurementIncreasing competition and efficiency section
System for Award Management: OPM HR (Cloud Based Human Capital Management)Award number, award date, recipient, value and justification notice
Associated Press: Defense Department accepts Boeing 747 from Qatar for Trump's usePentagon acceptance statement, intended presidential use, legal concerns, and administration cost-saving response
U.S. Department of Defense: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine Hold a Press BriefingOperation Midnight Hammer ordered by the President; three facilities and fourteen GBU-57 weapons
U.S. Government Publishing Office: Public Law 119-21Title VII, Subtitle B, Chapter 1, Medicaid
The White House: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Ensures Affordable Beef for the American ConsumerSupplementing Our Beef Supply, bullets 1-2

Reversal ledger

Oldest to latest by event date. Each stop is one dated case.

Oldest1973-10-151980-09-25Grand Hyatt public subsidy packageLatest2026-08-14

1980-09-25

Grand Hyatt public subsidy package

partly-kept

Promised: 2016-06-22Trump described his business record as evidence that he could turn projects from vision into completion.Open cited record · 1 source
The record: 1980-09-25Trump and Hyatt opened the redeveloped hotel under an agreement that included a long tax abatement and public financing support.Open cited record · 3 sources1980-09-25The operating venture and its owners received the benefit of the negotiated public assistance.Open cited record · 2 sources
Who gained: Grand Hyatt operating venture
Who paid: New York City taxpayers
Audit finding: partly kept
The project was completed, but the record qualifies a self-financed success narrative because substantial public assistance was an explicit part of the deal.
Causal strength: documented mechanism