President Donald Trump announced on October 5, 2026, that his administration will stop using taxpayer funds for promotional television ads, moving the costs to his MAGA, Inc. super PAC after facing bipartisan criticism over the multimillion-dollar campaign.
President Donald Trump said on Monday, October 5, 2026, that he will personally cover the costs of a series of campaign-style promotional ads using money raised for his pro-Trump super PAC, MAGA, Inc., according to a post on Truth Social. The decision follows multimillion-dollar television advertising efforts by the administration that drew questions from both Republicans and Democrats.
According to AdImpact, at least an estimated $10.1 million in taxpayer dollars had been spent on the ads as of Monday. Watchdog groups argued that the taxpayer-funded spots violated appropriations law by using federal funds for propaganda or partisan communications. Congress did not act to block the ads ahead of the midterms.
Trump Moves Ad Costs To Super PAC
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. 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. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
Donald Trump, President
The White House previously defended the spots as public service announcements. CNN obtained clips of 12 ads ranging from 15 seconds to three minutes long from a shared Dropbox account run by LMD, the agency awarded the government contract for the ad buys. Two of the spots have already aired, and each concludes with the words Paid for by the U.S. Government
at the bottom of the screen. Another ad titled “Final Battle” also aired in recent weeks but was not in the Dropbox account.
Unreleased Spots Detail White House Video Production
The campaign-style spots feature diverse themes centered around Trump and his policies. Among them are King of the Jungle,
which intersperses images of Trump, campaign rallies, lions, and eagles, and “Resilience,” which chronicles Trump’s progression from a younger man in the New York real estate market to the presidency. As of last week, the administration had created at least 13 promotional ads.
Spots that have yet to air include three highlighting the U.S. military and operations in Iran and Venezuela, one entitled God Made Trump,
and another recapping a UFC fight Trump hosted at the White House. Two Trump advisers stated that the ads were produced in-house by the White House video team within the communications office, though at least one spot was produced by a pro-Trump meme group. A source familiar with the matter reported that Trump personally drove the video production by helping select imagery and footage.
