Trump defended the ads, which cost at least $1.5 million in federal funds and have drawn intense criticism. In a post on his social media site, Mr. Mr.
Trump said they were “positive promotion for our Great USA.”
But the president added that he’d “decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc. All ended with a message: “Paid for by the U.S. Government. The actual amount spent could be far more, depending on whether networks classified the ad as a political ad.
Which tracks media spending, the spots had cost at least $1.4 million by the end of September, according to AdImpact.
“This is a rather standard thing to do,” the president wrote, while blaming intense criticism for using taxpayer funds on the ads on the “Radical Left.
Legal experts said the ads might even violate federal statutes, including a law against congressionally appropriated funds being used for “publicity or propaganda” and one limiting the partisan political activities of government employees.
It did not answer questions about how it or Mr. Trump might prove that his political funds were being used on such future advertising. The White House — which had fiercely defended using taxpayer money on spots meant to promote the President — said Monday (October 5, 2026) night that MAGA Inc. will pay for such ads going forward.
