Facing Backlash, Trump Says His Super PAC Will Pay for Taxpayer-Funded Ads
New York Times · LC · trust 52/100
The president said that his PAC, MAGA, Inc., would pay for TV ads promoting him that had been paid for with taxpayer money.
Listen · 4:24 min Share full article President Trump reversed course and said that his super PAC would pay for ads promoting him, which had been paid for with public funds. Credit... Kenny Holston/The New York Times By Shane Goldmacher Theodore Schleifer and Maggie Haberman
In a post on his social media platform, Mr. Trump wrote, “I have decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.”
More than $10 million in taxpayer-funded ads have run since September, according to AdImpact, the ad-tracking service. The ads, which are running on cable and network television, were paid for through a $20 million contract that used funds from the Department of Homeland Security.
Democrats — and some Republicans — have criticized the ads as a possible violation of federal laws for using taxpayer funds for “publicity or propaganda purposes.” The ads were broadcast in the heat of the campaign for the midterms, as Republicans are trying to hold control of Congress. At least one of the ads featured footage that originally had appeared in a 2024 Trump campaign video.
The White House had defended the ads as simply public service announcements. But the use of material that had originated in a campaign provided further fuel to critics of the ads.
There were four different ads and each featured an unusual disclaimer: “Paid for by the U.S. government.”
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