‘We’ll decide’: Trump hints he may pay for US government-funded ads
Move comes after ethics experts criticised three nationally broadcast ads and called for independent investigations.
United States President Donald Trump has said he will stop using taxpayer funds for television advertisements featuring him after widespread criticism of the campaign-style spots, though he declined to commit to reimbursing the government for already aired material.
In a post on his social media site on Monday, Trump defended the advertisements, which cost at least $1.5m in federal funds and were aired ahead of the US midterm elections on November 3.
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Trump said he considered the advertisements to be “a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A.”, but that they would no longer be funded by taxpayers.
“I have decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc,” Trump wrote.
MAGA Inc is Trump’s political war chest and had amassed more than $400m by the end of July.
However, on Tuesday, Trump appeared to equivocate when reporters confronted him about the advertisements.
“Why did you change your mind, sir, on the taxpayer-funded ads, and will you reimburse the government for the millions of dollars already spent?”
“The ads were really good. They were promotion for the country, done by many presidents before. So we’ll decide,” Trump responded.
The announcement came as ethics experts and lawmakers from both parties have criticised the three nationally broadcast advertisements and called for independent investigations.
The advertisements have run during football games as recently as Sunday and during other programming.
One features Trump declaring that “America will never be a communist country”, while a chorus repeats the words “love me”. Another combines images of Mount Rushmore with footage of Trump praising a “golden age of America”.
The advertisements end with a disclaimer saying they were paid for by the US government.
Democratic lawmakers said last month that the White House transferred $20m in Homeland Security Department funds to air the advertisements, including one that closely resembles a 2024 Trump campaign ad, and sought independent probes.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday called for an independent investigation, calling it a “staggering misuse of public funding and breach of public trust” after the calls for a probe.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer also called on Trump to reimburse the public for funds already spent.
“Trump must return this money to the American people and there must be a full investigation into this gross waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars,” he told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, a Republican named to his position by Trump, last week said the advertisements were appropriate and rejected a request to investigate them.
