Trump says he'll start paying for ads after pushback over taxpayer funding
President Trump said Monday he will start paying for the pro-Trump ads that have blanketed the airwaves in recent weeks, using money raised by his super PAC, after he drew intense pushback for using public funds.
US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he would finance television advertisements himself or through the Maga political committee, following criticism over the use of taxpayer-funded ads near the November congressional elections. Experts in ethics and lawmakers from both parties have condemned the three nationally broadcast ads, which highlight a "golden age of America".
Lawmakers have raised questions regarding the use of public funds to promote Trump politically, while others argue the spots may breach established guidelines against government propaganda and political activity. The White House and Trump have previously defended the ads as mere patriotic public service announcements akin to those produced by previous administrations, yet they still faced criticism from both sides.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump referred to the ads as "a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A", but stated that he would no longer rely on taxpayer money to fund them. "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," Trump wrote, with "them" alluding to what he called the "Radical Left".
One ad features Trump asserting that "America will never be a communist country" while a group repeats the words "love me". Another ad merges visuals of Mount Rushmore with footage of Trump praising a "golden age of America".
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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