Did trump send money to the taliban?
Executive summary
News reports allege the Trump administration sent "tens of millions" of dollars — often cited as $45 million — in cash to Afghanistan that critics say reached the Taliban through Afghanistan’s banking system or auctions; fact‑checks and official statements complicate the claim (see Newsweek, Alternet, Yahoo fact check) [1][2][3]. U.S. government and international agencies acknowledge large humanitarian flows to Afghanistan since 2021 and that some donor funds have been hard to track, but they dispute or qualify direct assertions that Washington deliberately paid the Taliban [4][5][6].
1. What people mean by "send money to the Taliban" — cash versus aid
Much of the public debate conflates direct payments to Taliban leaders with U.S. humanitarian and development assistance that is intended for Afghan civilians but moves through Afghan financial systems controlled in part by the Taliban. Analysts note the U.S. has provided billions in humanitarian and refugee assistance since 2021 — for example, reporting that roughly $21 billion has gone for such needs — and members of Congress and watchdogs have raised concerns that portions may be diverted or benefit Taliban-controlled institutions like the central bank [5][4].
2. The $45 million claim: sources and pushback
Several outlets and social posts circulated a specific claim that the Trump administration flew $45 million in fresh cash to the Taliban on December 8, 2025. Newsweek and partisan commentators amplified those allegations, and conservative lawmakers expressed outrage [1][2]. Independent fact‑checking reporting, however, found the viral photo used to illustrate the claim was from a 2023 UN cash‑shipment story and concluded the immediate social‑media narrative that the U.S. directly flew $45 million to the Taliban that day was false or misleading [3].
3. What whistleblowers and watchdogs actually said
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) has testified that he could not assure Congress that U.S. funding was not benefiting the Taliban, reflecting real tracking difficulties after the Taliban takeover [1]. Congressional research briefs likewise document member concerns and describe steps the State Department began to require better recipient reporting in FY2025 to prevent diversion; these documents stop short of confirming intentional direct payments from the U.S. to Taliban leaders [4].
4. How aid can "benefit" the Taliban without a direct transfer
Humanitarian operations in Afghanistan often involved cash shipments, auctions, and transfers that passed through the Afghan central bank or local markets; the UN and other donors have warned it can be "unavoidable" that some funds touch institutions under Taliban control. Reporting has documented large volumes of cash flown to Afghanistan by the UN and others since 2021 — not necessarily U.S. operationally handing envelopes to Taliban officials — and observers say that creates routes by which aid can indirectly benefit the de facto authorities [3][7].
5. Competing narratives and political stakes
The allegation that a U.S. president "sent money to the Taliban" carries explosive political implications and has been used by both critics and supporters to score domestic political points: opponents portray it as appeasement or funding terrorists, while the administration and some international actors frame continued assistance as necessary humanitarian relief and argue diversion is not the intended policy [1][6]. Sources show both congressional pressure to cut or tighten aid and administration steps to impose reporting and restrictions [4].
6. What current reporting does and does not establish
Available reporting shows (a) the United States and international donors have sent large humanitarian sums to Afghanistan since the Taliban regained power; (b) tracking those funds is difficult and watchdogs have warned some may have benefited Taliban‑controlled systems; and (c) the specific viral claim that the U.S. flew $45 million in fresh cash to the Taliban on a particular date was challenged by fact‑checkers and tied to an old photograph, not new evidence of a direct handoff [5][4][3]. Available sources do not mention incontrovertible evidence that the Trump administration intentionally handed freshly printed cash directly to Taliban leadership on the dates alleged [3].
7. Bottom line for readers
The sober reading of current reporting: the U.S. has funded large humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan that have proven hard to track and that, at times, have indirectly benefited Taliban‑controlled institutions; assertions of a deliberate, single direct cash flight from the Trump White House to the Taliban rest on social posts and reused imagery that fact‑checkers dispute [4][3]. For confirmation of any new, explicit direct payment, look for primary government documents, audit reports, or SIGAR follow‑ups; those are the sources cited by reporters and lawmakers raising the issue [1][4].