President Donald Trump says taxpayers will no longer fund US government television advertisements featuring him after criticism of the campaign-style spots.
US President Donald Trump says taxpayers will no longer fund television advertisements featuring him after widespread criticism of the campaign-style spots.
The advertisements, which have cost at least $1.5m in federal funds, have aired ahead of the US November midterm elections.
Trump defended the adverts in a post on his social media site on Monday, describing them as “a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A.”
However, he said they would no longer be funded by taxpayers and would instead be paid for by him or his political organisation, MAGA Inc.
MAGA Inc. is Trump’s political war chest and had amassed more than $400m by the end of July.
The announcement came as ethics experts and lawmakers from both parties criticised three nationally broadcast advertisements and called for independent investigations.
The adverts have continued to air during football games, including as recently as Sunday, as well as during other programmes.
One advert 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 stating that they were paid for by the US government.
Democratic lawmakers said last month that the White House had transferred $20m in Department of Homeland Security funds to broadcast the advertisements.
They said the spending included an advert that closely resembles a 2024 Trump campaign advertisement and called for independent investigations.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta called for an independent investigation on Monday, describing the spending as a “staggering misuse of public funding and breach of public trust”.
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, a Republican appointed by Trump, said last week that the advertisements were appropriate and rejected a request to investigate them.
