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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Is there a history of presidential campaigns declining to pay cities for costs related to campaign events?

By Stevie Rosignol-Cortez
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YES

Cities that send bills to presidential campaigns for security costs related to campaign events sometimes have a hard time collecting. A 2019 investigation by the Center for Public Integrity found that the Trump campaign owed ten city governments more than $800,000 in policing and other costs related to Trump’s rallies. In 2017, the organization reported that the 2016 Clinton and Sanders campaigns, as well as Trump’s, had unpaid local bills. 

The pandemic put a halt to many rallies in 2020, but El Paso hired lawyers to chase $569,000 in costs related to a 2019 visit by Trump. More recently, Albuquerque’s mayor told “The Daily Show” that Trump’s campaign owes the city about $200,000, which a Trump spokesman disputes.

A 2015 news report recounted how one Minnesota county waited 11 years to collect $18,000 from the 2004 Bush campaign, finally writing the debt off.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Center for Public Integrity Why the Trump campaign won’t pay police bills – Center for Public Integrity
Center for Public Integrity Cities to Trump, Clinton and Sanders: pay your police bills
El Paso Times Beto O'Rourke pays bill for El Paso rally, Donald Trump still owes $470,000
KTSM (El Paso) El Paso hires legal counsel to collect Trump campaign’s debt
Twitter Albuquerque Mayor interview on Trump rally costs
Twitter Jason Miller tweet disputing Albuquerque's assertion
StarTribune When candidates come to town, the bill often stays
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.