By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Monday said taxpayers will no longer pay for television ads featuring him shortly before the November congressional elections after widespread criticism of the campaign-style spots.
Ethics experts and lawmakers from both parties have criticized the three nationally broadcast ads, which celebrate a “golden age of America,” and called for independent investigations.
In a post on his Truth Social site on Monday, Trump said he considered the ads to be “a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A.” but that they would no longer be funded by taxpayers and said either he or his MAGA PAC would fund the ads.
Trump’s MAGA Inc political action committee has about $400 million. A White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters that going forward the ads would be paid for by the PAC.
Lawmakers have questioned whether public funds are being used to promote Trump politically, while other critics say the spots may violate longstanding restrictions on government propaganda and political activity.
Democratic lawmakers said last month that the White House transferred $20 million in Homeland Security Department funds to air the ads, including one that closely resembles a 2024 Trump campaign ad, and sought independent probes.
The ads have run during football games as recently as Sunday and during other programming. The New York Times reported that Trump personally directed the White House budget director to use taxpayer money for the TV spots, citing sources.
One ad 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 ads end with a disclaimer saying they were paid for by the US government.
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 two Democratic congressmen last week urged a probe.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr, a Republican named to his position by Trump, last week said the ads were appropriate and rejected a request to investigate them.
(Reporting by Costas Pitas and David Shepardson; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Christian Schmollinger)
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