A day after President Donald Trump said his super political action committee would pay for television ads promoting him that had been funded by taxpayers, White House officials said the group did not plan to reimburse the government for the more than $10 million it had already spent on the ads.

Trump announced on Monday evening that he was planning to have his super PAC, MAGA Inc., pay for the ads, which had drawn backlash from members of both parties. The White House officials later said that his promise would only apply “moving forward.”

Then, on Tuesday, a new taxpayer-funded ad — bragging about the U.S. success in taking out Venezuela’s former leader Nicolás Maduro — began airing on television. The new ad features Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Bipartisan Criticism of the Ads

Officials in both parties have criticized the ads, which are being aired amid a heated midterm campaign. And some have said they could violate federal laws for using taxpayer funds for “publicity or propaganda purposes.” One of the ads included footage that had originally appeared in a 2024 Trump campaign video.

Facing backlash for the use of public funds for the promotional ads, Trump appeared to retreat Monday, posting a message on Truth Social. He wrote, “I have decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.”

A White House spokesperson said Tuesday that “the president’s Truth was not referring to reimbursement.”

$11.5 Million in Ads Thus Far

When Trump posted the message, more than $10 million of such ads had run, according to AdImpact, the ad-tracking service.

When Trump was asked Tuesday if he would reimburse the government for the ads, he demurred and defended them as “promotion for the country” and said “we’ll decide.”

As of midday Tuesday, nearly $11.5 million has run, including a small sum for the new 60-second ad about the Venezuela operation. So far about $17,000 had been spent on the new ad, which began airing in the early hours of the day.

The ads are running nationally on cable and network television and paid for through a $20 million contract that uses funds from the Department of Homeland Security. Trump personally instructed his budget director to use taxpayer money for TV ads.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
By Shane Goldmacher and Maggie Haberman/Kenny Holston
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