In November 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump shared a meme (archived) claiming that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) halted an annual payment of $2.5 million to former U.S. President Barack Obama in “royalties” for Obamacare — Obama’s healthcare plan, formally known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
“WOW!” Trump captioned the post, which read:
#BREAKING: DOGE halts yearly payment of $2.5 million to Barack Obama for “royalties linked to Obamacare.”
Obama has collected this payment since 2010, for a total of $40 million in taxpayer dollars.
(Truth Social user @realDonaldTrump)
Trump rehashed the rumor (which we originally looked into in February 2025) amid the possible end of the longest U.S. government shutdown in history, in which Democrats were poised to fail in achieving their key demand to extend federal subsidies for Americans buying healthcare through the ACA. The budget had passed the U.S. Senate, as of this writing, but still needed to pass the House before being presented to Trump.
We reached out to the White House seeking comment, and did not immediately receive a response. We will update this story if we do.
We looked into the claim, and found there was no evidence that DOGE cut off an annual payment to Obama, nor that Obama was receiving such an annual payment. Like all former presidents, Obama receives an annual pension that is unrelated to the Affordable Care Act.
The rumor about the U.S. government owing Obama royalty payments originated with The Dunning-Kruger Times (also known as “America’s Last Line of Defense,” or ALLOD) — a website and social media account that describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature. Its About Page states:
Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site’s pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical.
Besides a watermark on the actual image of the post that indicates satire and says “nothing on this page is real,” the bio of the site’s Facebook account also states:
The flagship of the ALLOD network of trollery and propaganda for cash.
Nothing on this page is real.
The fictional story, which claimed $2.6 million in royalties not $2.5 million, originally spread as DOGE continued to make headlines for cutting funding of U.S. government programs and for the mass firing of federal employees at an unprecedented pace.
The Dunning-Kruger Times has a history of making up stories for shares and comments. Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims stemming from the site in the past, including the assertion that U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s vineyard received $14 million in USAID funding and a rumor that half the fire trucks in Los Angeles are electric or take 10 hours to recharge.
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.
