President Trump said Monday he would begin funding the pro-Trump ads that have covered the airwaves in recent weeks with money raised by his super PAC, after his administration attracted intense efforts. refusal to use public funds on the announcements.
“The radical left is upset that I take ads, which I view as positive promotion for our great United States, and pay for them with American money,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “It’s a pretty standard thing to do but, rather than do that, even though nothing will make them happy, I decided to do patriotic ads, among other things, and pay for them myself, and with the money I raised for MAGA, Inc.”
Boasting the message “Paid for by the U.S. Government,” the ads began appearing late last month on national cable and broadcast networks, including CBS, in the lead-up to the November midterm elections.
Several variations were released, including one that features a recording of Mr. Trump saying, “We will defeat communism, socialism and Marxism in America,” while photos of the president flash across the screen. Another recounts US capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
CBS News reported last month that there are several versions of the ads. The U.S. government produced the content and paid for the airtime through an advertising agency.
The Department of Homeland Security awarded $20 million to the LMD agency for a “national media campaign” that will begin Sept. 20, according to contract records. A day earlier, the White House Office of Management and Budget awarded $20 million to DHS Customs and Border Protection for “OBBB commemorative events,” according to a nongovernmental database. The source of the funds was first reported by the Washington Sun.
The White House has defended the ads, calling them public service announcements and denying that they constitute campaign ads.
A White House official said last month that the PSAs “are clearly not political,” and noted, “The president is not on the ballot and the ads are not calling for action.”
Asked about the anti-communist ad, a White House spokesperson said: “The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country.”
The ad campaign drew bipartisan criticism. Democrats argued that these ads could violate federal laws that prohibit the use of government funds for “propaganda” and limit political activity by executive branch employees.
“This is the kind of government propaganda you would expect in North Korea, not the United States of America, and it is a blatant and illegal misuse of America’s hard-earned tax dollars,” a group of Senate Democrats said in a letter last month.
A handful of Republicans also expressed criticism.
“I don’t think any public official, including President Trump or (former DHS Secretary) Kristi Noem or John Kennedy, should spend public money on private advertisements for themselves,” said Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana. said on “Facing the Nation”.
By using his own super PAC to pay for ads, Mr. Trump is tapping into a nine-figure war chest that many Republican candidates hope to spend in battleground states before the midterm elections — despite a late start to this election cycle.
Since last month, the group has reported tens of millions of dollars in expenses on the Texas Senate race, where Trump-allied Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton is in a tight race against Democratic state lawmaker James Talarico.
The group had more than $400 million on hand at the end of August, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Mr. Trump said last month he “is going to spend whatever amount of money is necessary to try to help us.”
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