President Donald Trump said Monday he will stop using federal funding for a series of television advertisements and will instead pay for them with money raised for MAGA, Inc. a super PAC supporting him.
Trump announced the reversal in a post on Truth Social, saying the "Radical Left" had objected to the use of "U.S.A. money" for ads he called "a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A." He said he decided to pay for the "Patriotic Ads" himself using MAGA, Inc. funds.
The shift comes after widespread criticism from Republicans and Democrats questioning the spending. An estimated $10.1 million in taxpayer dollars had already been spent on the ads as of Monday, according to AdImpact, a political ad-tracking firm.
The administration created at least 13 campaign-style ads promoting Trump and his policies. CNN obtained clips of 12 of these advertisements, ranging from 15 seconds to three minutes long, two of which had already aired. The clips were found in a Dropbox account managed by LMD, the agency holding the government contract for the ad buys. Each ad concluded with text stating "Paid for by the U.S. Government." A separate ad titled "Final Battle" also aired recently but was not included in the Dropbox account.
The ads incorporated imagery of President Trump and audio segments featuring positive news reports, along with patriotic visuals such as a cap toss at a military graduation, fireworks over Mount Rushmore, and military flyovers.
President Trump personally directed the creation of the video ads, including selecting imagery and footage. Two Trump advisers confirmed the White House video team, part of the communications office, produced the ads in-house. At least one ad was produced by a pro-Trump meme group.
Unreleased ads include three spots highlighting the U.S. military and operations in Iran and Venezuela. Other unreleased ads include one titled "God Made Trump" and another recapping a UFC fight Trump hosted at the White House.
Watchdog groups argued the ads violated appropriations law, which restricts federal funding for propaganda or partisan communications. However, it remains unclear whether outside groups have legal standing to file a lawsuit over the expenditures.
