Trump shifts TV self-promotion ads from taxpayer funds to MAGA Inc after backlash
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he will stop using taxpayer money for television advertisements promoting himself and will instead use funds from his super PAC, MAGA Inc, to pay for such campaigns in future. The move came after strong criticism from leaders in both parties over the use of federal funds for the ads.
In a post on his social media platform, Trump defended the commercials, which have cost at least USD 1.5 million in government money and were criticised widely. He called them "positive promotion for our Great USA" and said, "This is a rather standard thing to do," while blaming the backlash on the "Radical Left".
Trump also said he had "decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc." The political organisation had collected more than USD 400 million by the end of July, and Trump has already begun using it to support Republican candidates ahead of the midterm elections.
He did not say whether taxpayers would be reimbursed for the advertisements that have already aired, or explain how his political organisation would pay for similar advertisements in future. The White House, which had earlier strongly defended the use of taxpayer funds for the ads, said on Monday night that MAGA Inc. would cover such advertising going forward. It did not answer questions on how that would be shown or verified.
Legal experts said the ads might violate federal laws, including one that bars congressionally appropriated money from being used for "publicity or propaganda" and another that restricts partisan political activity by government employees.
The advertisements began airing in late September. The first featured clips of Trump speaking about defeating communism, along with onscreen text referring to the "largest tax cuts in history", "reigniting American manufacturing" and a call to "defend law and order and police". A second ad later that week showed scenic footage of Mount Rushmore with quotes and clips from Trump's Fourth of July weekend speech there marking the country's 250th anniversary.
A third and more recent advertisement was almost identical to one used in Trump's 2024 Republican re-election campaign. It showed him walking down a hallway while his voice warned of a "final battle" against "globalists" and "warmongers". All of the ads ended with the line, "Paid for by the US Government."
According to AdImpact, which tracks media spending, the advertisements had cost at least USD 1.4 million by the end of September, though the final amount could be much higher depending on whether television networks classified them as political ads. Trump has now said future "Patriotic Ads" will be paid for through MAGA Inc. rather than by taxpayers, after criticism over the earlier spending.
