{
  "id": 12255310,
  "title": "Trump says will pay for TV ads after pushback over taxpayer funding close to election",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/trump-says-will-pay-for-tv-ads-after-pushback-over-taxpayer-funding",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-05T23:34:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3369846/trump-says-will-pay-tv-ads-after-pushback-over-taxpayer-funding-close-election"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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\".",
  "summary": "US President Donald Trump on Monday said that he would pay for television advertisements himself or with money raised from the Maga political committee after pushback over the use of taxpayer-funded television ads featuring him just before the November congressional elections. Ethics experts and lawmakers from both parties have criticised the three nationally broadcast ads, which celebrate a…",
  "key_points": [
    "Trump will fund TV ads himself or through Maga political committee",
    "Ads highlight \"golden age of America\" and face ethical criticism",
    "Trump states he will no longer use taxpayer money for the ads"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CBS News",
        "title": "Trump says he'll start paying for ads after pushback over taxpayer funding",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/trump-says-hell-start-paying-for-ads-after-pushback-over-taxpayer",
        "published": "2026-10-05T22:47:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}