'Quite odd': Concern raised over Trump’s GoFundMe hurricane campaign

Donald Trump's campaign has set up a fundraising page for hurricane relief, but it's not clear where the money is actually going.

The Republican nominee's campaign created the fundraising campaign billed “as an official response for MAGA supporters to offer their financial assistance to their fellow Americans impacted by Hurricane Helene,” reported The New Republic. The page lists charities it says would receive the MAGA funds.

Three of the four charities listed are Christian or Evangelical nongovernmental organizations — Samaritan’s Purse, Water Mission, and Mtn2Sea Ministries — while the fourth is listed as the “Clinch Foundation,” which appears to be the Clinch Memorial Hospital’s Foundation in Valdosta, Georgia.

However, the campaign has not said how it would disburse those funds, which stood at about $7.7 million as of Monday, although Mtn2Sea Ministries says it has received $25,000.

“This is the only funds we expect to [receive] from this GoFundMe account and are very grateful for it to help us serve,” a post on the charity's Facebook page read.

The crowdfunding page doesn't violate any campaign finance laws, but political candidates typically donate campaign money to IRS-approved nonprofits.

“It’s pretty unusual and actually quite odd,” said campaign finance attorney Brett Kappel.

Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, said the former president wanted to “help find a way for his supporters to give as much direct support as they can.”