The ads stay. The funding changes.
President Donald Trump announced Monday that taxpayers will no longer pay for the television ads promoting him and his administration. Instead, he said, the bill goes to MAGA Inc., his super PAC. He made the call on Truth Social after days of bipartisan criticism over the campaign-style spots.
"The Radical Left is upset with the fact that I am taking Ads, which I consider to be a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A., and paying for them with U.S.A. money," Trump wrote. "This is a rather standard thing to do but, rather than doing that, although nothing will make them happy, I have decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc."
The backlash was real and bipartisan. Ethics experts and lawmakers from both parties criticized the nationally broadcast ads — which celebrate a "golden age of America" — and called for independent investigations. Democratic lawmakers said the White House transferred $20 million in Homeland Security Department funds to air the spots, including one that closely resembles a 2024 Trump campaign ad. The New York Times reported that Trump personally directed the White House budget director to use taxpayer money for the buys. Legal experts cited laws against using appropriated funds for publicity and propaganda.
The numbers are big. AdImpact, a political ad-tracking firm, estimates at least $10.1 million in taxpayer dollars has already been spent airing the ads, which ran during NFL and college football games as recently as Sunday. Each spot ends with a disclaimer saying it was paid for by the U.S. government. CNN reports the administration created at least 13 campaign-style ads, with more unaired — including spots on the military and operations in Iran and Venezuela, one titled "God Made Trump," and a recap of the UFC fight Trump hosted at the White House.
The White House has defended the spots as public service announcements, not campaign ads. A White House official told Reuters that MAGA Inc. — which holds roughly $400 million — will pay for the ads going forward. Neither the White House nor the PAC answered whether taxpayers will be reimbursed for the ads that already aired.
That's the open question. The funding switch answers the criticism going forward, but the $10 million already spent is taxpayer money that went to spots starring the president weeks before the midterms. Watchdogs are still circling, and the legality questions haven't gone away just because the next round has a different payer.