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President Donald Trump announced on October 6, 2026, that he would stop using US taxpayer funds for promotional television ads he had fronted, shifting the costs to himself or funds raised for his MAGA Inc super political action committee. The decision followed widespread bipartisan criticism of the campaign-style advertisements that praised the president and his policies while carrying a disclaimer noting they were paid for by the US government. According to a Reuters report, Trump’s MAGA Inc political action committee had amassed about 400 million dollars by the end of July, offering a ready alternative to public money.
The Department of Homeland Security tapped 20 million dollars from allocations intended for US Customs and Border Protection under legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill to finance the effort, an AP News account detailed.[[1]](https://apnews.com/article/trump-ads-taxpayer-money-homeland-security-b869294503c8454db4109ae175ee9e5c) AdImpact data placed spending on three of the ads at more than 2.5 million dollars over a recent seven-day period, though the overall taxpayer outlay may have reached 10.1 million dollars or higher depending on network classifications. The advertisements, which aired during NFL and college football games as well as other programming in late September, featured Trump vowing to defeat communism and hailing the start of a golden age of America.
Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that while he liked the message of the spots, it should not be paid for with taxpayer dollars. Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, said on CBS News that politicians should not spend taxpayer funds on promotional ads. Newsweek listed additional Republican critics including Senators Mike Rounds, who called the ads not something he would have done, and John Cornyn, who noted that everyone knows taxpayer money is not supposed to be used for that purpose.
Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire introduced a measure declaring that the advertisements promoting President Donald Trump that aired in September 2026, which included the direct language paid for by the US Government, should not be paid for by the United States government. Senators Patty Murray and Chris Murphy wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin demanding answers within 48 hours on how the administration was using funds meant for border security to air the spots, according to the AP News report. California Attorney General Rob Bonta called for an independent investigation into what he termed a staggering misuse of public funding.
Legal ethics expert Margaret Dylus-Yukins told the BBC it was difficult to see what legitimate government purpose was served by spending taxpayer dollars on ads whose only apparent purpose was to promote the president. The spots have prompted questions over whether they violate federal restrictions on government propaganda and the partisan political activities of public employees. A Maryland-based firm, LMD Agency, was awarded the 20 million dollar contract for the national media campaign, public contracting records show.
The reversal came days before the November 2026 congressional elections as ethics experts and lawmakers from both parties called for probes into the funding. Trump wrote on Truth Social that the radical left was upset with the fact that he was taking ads, which he considered to be a positive promotion for our great USA, and paying for them with USA money. He added that this is a rather standard thing to do but rather than doing that, although nothing will make them happy, he has decided to do the patriotic ads, among others, and pay for them himself, and with money he raised for MAGA Inc.
