After a federally funded television advertisement featuring President Donald Trump aired on stations across the United States, Trump said Monday that his political action committee would cover the cost.
The advertisement drew criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, who argued it was political in nature. Trump said the ads will instead be paid for by MAGA Inc., which reported nearly $416 million in cash on hand at the end of August.
The PAC also has been helping fund Republican Senate campaigns in battleground states.
“The Radical Left is upset with the fact that I am taking Ads, which I consider to be a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A., and paying for them with U.S.A. money," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "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, Inc.”
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Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., sent a letter last week to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles seeking information about the advertisement's official government purpose and the amount spent on the campaign.
“The advertisement raises deep concerns about the Trump administration's use of taxpayer dollars and its compliance with federal laws that prohibit the use of appropriated funds for the promotion of a political party or candidate,” Hassan wrote. “The ad, which includes the direct language that it was ‘paid for by the U.S. Government,’ features images of President Trump at political rallies and White House events while the song ‘Love Me’ by JMSN plays in the background.”
Critics also pointed to language in the advertisement that they said was political. Trump, however, called the spots "public service announcements."
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“We will cast out the communists, Marxists and fascists. We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout the fake news media, and we will liberate America from these villains once and for all,” Trump says in the ad.
