Trump Withdraws Funding for His Ads with Taxpayer Money Before November Elections

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U.S. President Donald Trump has reversed his plan to use taxpayer money to fund television ads promoting his policies and image, announcing that upcoming ads will be funded from money he has raised for MAGA Inc, just weeks before the midterm elections scheduled for November.

Trump's decision came after rising criticism from lawmakers and political ethics experts from both the Republican and Democratic parties regarding the use of government funds in ads that critics deemed close to campaign rhetoric, as both parties prepare for the midterm election battle.

Three television ads had aired nationally, ending with the phrase 'Paid for by the U.S. government.' AdImpact, a company specializing in tracking advertising spending, estimated that at least $1.5 million of federal funds had been spent on the ads.

Trump said in a post on his platform 'Truth Social' that what he described as radical leftists objected to the use of government funds to finance what he called positive promotion of the United States, adding that he decided instead to fund the ads himself from the money he raised for MAGA Inc.

The step gains political significance with the upcoming midterm elections, as Trump has begun using the MAGA Inc treasury to support Republican candidates across the United States, while the committee held more than $400 million until the end of July, according to media reports.

The White House had defended the advertisements as public service messages promoting the administration's achievements and American policies, rather than electoral materials. However, critics said they bear clear characteristics of political advertisements, especially with Trump's appearance in them and the use of messages similar to those used in his previous campaign.

Among the advertisements is one showing Trump speaking about confronting communism, Marxism, and fascism, while another ad focuses on images of Mount Rushmore and phrases related to what the president describes as America's golden age. The third advertisement was similar to one used by Trump's campaign during the 2024 elections.

Lawmakers and oversight bodies have called for investigations into the legality of using government funds to finance these advertisements, while the timing of their broadcast before the November elections has raised further controversy regarding their nature and whether they represent politically funded promotion using public money.

Trump did not clarify whether the public funds already spent on previous advertisements would be reimbursed, merely announcing that the funding for upcoming advertisements would come from his own money and from funds raised for MAGA Inc.