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Taxpayers have spent at least $10.1 million on TV ads praising President Donald Trump, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact. Trump said Monday his super PAC will pay for future ads, but he hasn’t committed to repaying the money already spent.
The ads began airing in late September, including during college football and NFL games, and each ends with “Paid for by the U.S. Government.” At least 13 have been produced, including one called “God Made Trump.”
The White House calls them public service announcements, or PSAs, the kind of messages agencies use to inform people about programs or safety. Critics in both parties say they are campaign ads paid for with public money, weeks before the November midterms.
How much taxpayer money has been spent on the Donald Trump ads so far?
AdImpact counted more than $2.5 million in the ads’ first week on air and $5.6 million by Oct. 2. The real total is likely higher, because PSAs follow different disclosure rules than campaign ads.
Federal contracting records show the Department of Homeland Security awarded $20 million for a “National Media Campaign” to LMD Agency, the firm buying the airtime. The contract began Sept. 20.
The money came from U.S. Customs and Border Protection funding under the One Big Beautiful Bill, the 2025 tax and spending law, according to a nongovernment database.
Will taxpayers keep paying for the Donald Trump ads?
Not for future ads, according to Trump. In a social media post Monday, he called using public funds “a rather standard thing to do” but said he would pay for the ads “myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.”
MAGA Inc. is Trump’s super PAC, a political group that can raise and spend unlimited money. It had more than $400 million on hand at the end of August, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
A White House official told reporters Tuesday that Trump’s post did not refer to repaying the government for ads already purchased. Asked later that day whether he would reimburse the government, Trump said, “So we’ll decide.”
What is the ‘God Made Trump’ ad, and what else is in the taxpayer-funded campaign?
“God Made Trump” is a three-minute video that casts the president as a near-messianic figure. It reworks “So God Made a Farmer,” radio broadcaster Paul Harvey’s famous tribute to American farmers.
The Dilley Meme Team, a pro-Trump meme group, created the original video, NPR reported. The campaign’s version carries the “Paid for by the U.S. Government” tag, but it’s unclear what, if anything, the government paid for it. As of Oct. 2, it hadn’t aired.
Ads that have aired show Trump vowing to defeat communism, his Mount Rushmore speech and the U.S. capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Another, “Final Battle,” is nearly identical to a 2024 Trump campaign ad.
Unaired spots obtained by CNN include:
- “King of the Jungle”: lions and a bald eagle intercut with Democrats Trump treats as rivals, such as former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
- “Resilience”: Trump’s path from New York real estate to the White House, including his 2023 Georgia mugshot.
- “UFC 250”: the Ultimate Fighting Championship event Trump hosted at the White House in June.
Is it legal to use tax dollars for ads praising Donald Trump?
Legal experts say the ads may break a federal ban on using money approved by Congress for “publicity or propaganda.” They may also violate the Hatch Act, which limits partisan political activity by government employees.
The White House says the ads are “clearly not political” because the president isn’t on the ballot and the spots don’t ask viewers to act. Critics note that, unlike past PSAs, they don’t point Americans to any government program.
Republicans including Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota and Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, John Cornyn of Texas and John Kennedy of Louisiana have said taxpayers shouldn’t pay for the ads. Congress hasn’t acted to stop them.