Axel Springer chief rejects white house allegations, defends Politico’s business model

The CEO of Politico’s parent company, Axel Springer, has hit back at Donald Trump’s claims that the outlet has received government subsidies, dismissing them as “absolutely wrong” and a “fundamental misunderstanding” of its business model.

Mathias Döpfner, who owns 22% of the German publishing giant, insisted in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that Politico has never taken “a cent” in government subsidies. Instead, he explained, Politico Pro, the outlet’s premium subscription service, sells access to in-depth legislative analysis—a standard industry practice.

Despite this, the Trump White House moved to cancel all government subscriptions to Politico, BBC, Bloomberg, and E&E News, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt accusing Politico of being propped up by taxpayer money. Trump escalated the attack on Truth Social, falsely claiming “billions have been stolen” from USAID to fund media outlets.

Döpfner dismissed the accusations, arguing that if Politico Pro’s government subscriptions counted as subsidies, “then Bloomberg, cable networks, and every other media service with government contracts would also be considered subsidized.”

With the White House ordering an immediate media subscription purge, concerns grow over press freedom and political interference. The big question now—will this set a dangerous precedent for government censorship?