The Trump administration paid for TV ads showing him in a favorable light using money intended for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an official and a top Republican senator confirmed to NBC News.<\/p>\n
The source of the funding for the controversial ads the White House has described as public service announcements was first reported by The Wall Street Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Asked for comment on the source of the funding, a White House spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday, \u201cThese public service announcements are about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad. The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic.\u201d<\/p>\n The spokesperson referred specific questions about the funding to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP.<\/p>\n The department said in a statement that it \u201cfollows all applicable rules for contracting decisions and keeps all decision makers informed. All contracting decisions are made in accordance with applicable law.\u201d <\/p>\n The unusual ads<\/a> \u2014 one of which is nearly identical to a 2024 Trump campaign ad \u2014 include disclaimers stating they were paid for by the U.S. government. The administration\u2019s apparent use of taxpayer money to produce ads that resemble campaign advertisements has drawn bipartisan criticism.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great message. I like the message,\u201d Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters<\/a> Monday of the most recent ad, \u201cbut it shouldn\u2019t be paid for with taxpayer dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday only President Donald Trump would have \u201cthe audacity to force Americans not only to watch his propaganda, but to pay for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, confirmed the official\u2019s account of the source of the funds, saying that \u201cit was taken out of funding that was supposed to be for Customs and Border Protection\u201d in Trump\u2019s so-called big, beautiful bill<\/a>, which Republicans passed along party lines in 2025.<\/p>\n Collins, who faces a difficult re-election bid this fall, said the Appropriations Committee she chairs had no role in the money that the White House used. In fact, she said appropriations bills to fund the government typically have restrictions against using one account for another purpose.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why the administration went around the appropriations process and used an account that was part of the reconciliation bill,\u201d Collins said in the Capitol.<\/p>\n The first of the ads aired earlier this month and featured Trump describing how he wanted to \u201cdefeat communism,\u201d set to the song \u201cLove Me\u201d by JMSN<\/a>. (Lawyers for JMSN on Monday sent a cease-and-desist letter<\/a> to the White House telling it to stop using his music.)<\/p>\n