Donald Trump has revealed a mystery friend donated $130 million to the US military while the US government was shut down.
The American government is currently embroiled in a shutdown due to the inability of Trump, Republicans, and Democrats to agree, though an end seems to be in sight. One of the more pressing issues during the shutdown was how service members would be paid.
During an appearance on ‘The Pat McAfee Show,’ where he warned “rich colleges will go bust”, the president shared with the former NFL star that a friend donated $130 million to help pay the military. Trump’s appearance on the show comes days after he was heavily booed while at Northwest Stadium.
“Anyway Pat, you have to understand, we got the military paid. There’s no way we weren’t going to pay the military,” he told McAfee on the show regarding the $130 million donation. “But how about this? There was a bit of a shortfall and a friend of mine called. A very successful, rich guy. A great guy, great patriot.
“And he called, he said, ‘Listen, if there’s a shortfall, I want to pay for it.’ So I looked around I said, ‘Is there a shortfall?,’ they said ‘$130 million.’ He wrote a check for 130 million dollars so that our military got paid perfectly, on time. How about that? That’s called a patriot.”
Though Trump did not specify who donated the $130 million, it was reported by the New York Times that Timothy Mellon, a railroad magnate whose net worth has been estimated to be roughly $1 billion, was the mystery donor. Despite the donation, CNBC reported that each service member would receive approximately $100.
What’s more, this is not the first time Trump has lauded Mellon’s donation, having called him a “great patriot” and a “friend of mine” in the past. “And he’s a big supporter of mine,” Trump told reporters, according to CNBC. “He’s a wonderful man, and he doesn’t want publicity.”
Notably, Mellon has a history of donating to Republican-backed causes, having donated $140 million to MAGA Inc. in 2024 and nearly $2 million in April 2025 to the same organization, according to The Hill. When pressed by the New York Times on his support for Trump, Mellon remained mum.
“I’ll contribute to [Trump] or [former President] Biden or whoever I want to,” he explained to the outlet [h/t The Hill]. “I don’t have to say why.”
As for why he appeared on McAfee’s show, Trump made it abundantly clear that he only joined the program because the ESPN host had said nice things about him in the past. “And I’m only joining you because I hear you say such nice things about me from your very large audience,” the president said.
“I’ve always heard you’ve said such nice things. So when people say nice [things] about me, I join. When they don’t say nice [things] about me, I take a pass.”