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President Donald Trump will not reimburse the federal government for money already spent on a series of campaign-like ads using taxpayer dollars.
On Monday night, facing threats of legal action and complaints from Republican and Democratic lawmakers for using public money to promote his administration before critical midterm elections, the president said he will “pay for them myself” and through a Trump-connected political action committee.
“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,” the president wrote on his Truth Social account.
“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.” he added.
The White House said Tuesday that the president “was not referring to reimbursement.”
Homeland Security has reportedly budgeted $20 million for series of ads promoting the Trump administration. While Trump has said taxpayers will stop covering the cost, he will not reimburse the funds already spent (White House)
“Presidential public service announcements” are used to “explain policy and make the case for the nation’s direction,” the White House told The Independent.
The White House has argued that previous administrations have launched similar ad campaigns, comparing Trump’s messages to ads promoting Medicare prescription drug benefits, anti-drug campaigns, Affordable Care Act enrollment, and COVID-19 vaccinations.
Trump’s ads — one of which appears to be directly lifted from one of the president’s 2024 campaign videos — promote a “final battle” against “globalists” and “warmongers.”
Another video promotes his administration with the song “Love Me” by singer-songwriter JMSN, who has issued a cease-and-desist notice demanding the Trump administration immediately stop using it.
Each of the ads ends with the caption “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
The ads have reportedly already cost $10 million, as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s reported $20 million budget to produce the ads, according to members of Congress investigating the campaign. The administration has also spent more than $2 million to buy up airtime on national TV networks, where they have already aired hundreds of times.
It’s unclear how Trump will spend the money himself. He is legally barred from directing or controlling the spending decisions of a super PAC.
Trump has said he will pay for the ads himself, or through a Trump-connected PAC, which he is not legally allowed to direct (Getty)
Legal experts and members of Congress have argued that the ads are a blatantly illegal use of taxpayer dollars that violates ethics laws against public money being wielded for partisan political messages and propaganda.
“This is an unlawful and outrageous misuse of public funds,” former White House ethics lawyer and Democracy Defenders Action co-founder Norm Eisen told The Independent last week.
“Federal law forbids using taxpayer dollars for political propaganda, which this clearly is,” he said. “This is yet another corrupt attempt to advance a partisan agenda ahead of the midterm election, paid for by average American taxpayers who are already suffering from high costs caused by this administration’s failed policies.”
Senator Maggie Hassan, a top Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee, has pushed the White House to detail the costs of the ads and where the money was pulled from, as well as any outside contractors, federal agencies and government employees who were involved.
“These campaign ads never should have run on the taxpayer’s dime to begin with,” she said in a statement shared with The Independent on Tuesday.
“They were clearly wrong and clearly illegal, which is why the president should also immediately repay the taxpayers for the amount already spent on these ads,” she added.
Last week, under fire for using public money for the ads, Trump said he would “gladly” pay for them himself if someone were to tell him they were “wrong.”
“I’m not running for office,” the president told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.
“When I’m talking about making America great, making our country great, that’s a countrywide ad,” he added. “That’s an ad for the spirit of our country.”