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Trump’s Slush Fund Is a Multitool

And we’ve all been missing its most important functions.

Jonathan V. Last's avatar
Jonathan V. Last
May 26, 2026
∙ Paid

We’re doing it live! Sarah, Tim and I are going LIVE tonight for The Next Level covering the Texas Senate runoff results on Substack and YouTube. Watch your inbox for a link or check the site at 9pm in the East. We’ll post the show to all the channels when it’s over for those who can’t join live.


(Photo illustration by The Bulwark / Photos: Getty, Shutterstock)

1. Leatherman

We’ve been thinking too narrowly about the $1.776 billion pot of taxpayer money that Donald Trump will soon control.

Most people assumed Trump would use it to pay off meathead insurrectionists, sort of a . . . treason stimulus.

“I’m takin’ my old lady to Red Lobster.” Absolute gold.


Others believed that while Dummkopf MAGA might get a couple bucks here and there, the real money would be funneled to Trump family members and organizations.

But the Slush Fund from Hell—or whatever we’re calling it—is much more useful than any of that. It’s a multitool for corruption and maintaining MAGA discipline. Let me explain.

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