Trump Says Super PAC Will Pay for Political Ads, Not Taxpayers

President Donald Trump said his political committee will cover the cost of his television advertisements, shifting away from taxpayer funding. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that he will pay for the ads through his super PAC, MAGA, Inc., despite calling the practice "a rather standard thing to do."

"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," the president wrote. He added that he decided to pay for them himself and with money he raised for MAGA, Inc.

More than $10 million in taxpayer-funded ads have run since September, according to ad-tracking service AdImpact, as reported by TheWrap. Trump paid for those with funds from a $20 million Department of Homeland Security contract. The ads first appeared on Fox News and during NFL and college football broadcasts, each carrying a disclaimer that read "Paid for by the U.S. government."

TheWrap noted that politicians from both parties criticized the ads as a possible violation of federal law against using taxpayer funds for publicity or propaganda. Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, called the ads "illegal" and said they should be pulled immediately. Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr defended the spending as a "normal PSA."

MAGA, Inc. started September with about $415 million on hand, and it and two affiliated super PACs have set aside roughly $194 million for advertising ahead of November, per AdImpact data cited by TheWrap.

• Donald Trump
• MAGA Inc.
• political ads
• super PAC
• taxpayer funding
• Truth Social