Nearly $22 million in taxpayer dollars has been spent airing pro-Trump advertisements since the campaign launched in late September, according to an NPR analysis of AdImpact data.
Close to $10 million of that total was spent after October 5, the date President Trump publicly pledged on Truth Social to shift funding to his MAGA Inc. super PAC.
Trump posted at the time: “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.”
He continued: “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.”
Despite that announcement giving a clear impression of a policy change, government-funded ads continued airing without interruption following Trump’s post.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle had criticized the ads, with Republican members initially praising the president’s stated decision to move funding to an outside super PAC, praise that turned out to be premature.
The White House repeatedly described the spots as public service announcements, though a lawsuit filed by Common Cause and others argued the ads were funded without congressional approval and violated restrictions on taxpayer-funded publicity and propaganda.
Five ads in total make up the campaign, covering a wide range of pro-Trump content, including a montage of presidential photos set to a chorus singing “love me,” a duplicate of a 2024 Trump campaign ad, and two spots promoting military operations in Venezuela and Iran.
A federal judge issued a temporary ruling Sunday night ordering the government to cancel any remaining placements, yet pro-Trump spots continued airing hundreds of additional times through the early hours of Monday morning.
A White House official told NPR on Monday that “the last PSAs paid for by the government aired yesterday evening,” adding that the government “did not receive notice from the court in time to cancel the ad buys” and that “the PSAs will be paid for by outside groups moving forward.”
The White House had previously stated that taxpayer funds spent on the ads would not be reimbursed, and insisted the campaign was about promoting patriotism rather than influencing elections.
Administration officials argued the ads could not be considered campaign-related because Trump is not on the ballot this year, though Trump has repeatedly urged voters to cast ballots as though he were.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found 86% of Americans consider it inappropriate to use taxpayer funds for election-related television ads featuring the president or members of his cabinet, with even 80% of Republicans agreeing the ads were inappropriate.
Trump’s approval ratings have weighed on Republican candidates heading into next month’s midterm elections, adding a charged political backdrop to what the White House has framed as a straightforward public information campaign.
