Donald Trump has said taxpayer-funded television adverts featuring him will no longer be paid for by the US government, following criticism from ethics experts and lawmakers.
The adverts, which have cost at least 1.5 million dollars in federal funds, were broadcast ahead of the November midterm elections. Trump defended them in a post on his social media platform, describing them as “a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A.”
He said future broadcasts would instead be funded by him or his MAGA political action committee. MAGA Inc, Trump’s political war chest, had amassed more than 400 million dollars by the end of July.
Three nationally broadcast adverts have drawn criticism and calls for independent investigations. They have appeared during football games, including as recently as Sunday, as well as during other programmes.
One advert shows Trump declaring that “America will never be a communist country”, while a chorus repeats the words “love me”. Another combines images of Mount Rushmore with footage of the president praising a “golden age of America”. Each advert ends with a disclaimer stating that it was paid for by the US government.
Democratic lawmakers said last month that the White House had transferred 20 million dollars from the Department of Homeland Security to broadcast the adverts. They also claimed that one closely resembled a Trump campaign advert from 2024 and called for independent probes.
California attorney general Rob Bonta renewed calls for an independent investigation on Monday, describing the broadcasts as a “staggering misuse of public funding and breach of public trust”.
Brendan Carr, the Republican chairman of the Federal Communications Commission appointed by Trump, said last week that the adverts were appropriate and rejected a request to investigate them.
