Trump says he will pay for the TV ads himself after criticism over the use of taxpayers’ money

President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he will pay himself for the television ads promoting him, or with money raised by the MAGA political committee, after the fierce backlash over the use of taxpayer funds for spots aired nationwide shortly before November’s midterm elections, as Reuters reports.

At issue are three ads aired on national television celebrating an “American golden age”. In one of them, Trump declares that “America will never be a communist country”, while a chorus repeats the phrase “love me”. Another combines footage of Mount Rushmore with Trump praising “America’s golden age”, according to Reuters.

Ethics experts and lawmakers from both parties have criticised the spots, raising questions over whether public funds are being used to promote Trump politically and whether the ads breach the longstanding restrictions on government propaganda and political activity.

In a post on his Truth Social network on Monday, Trump called the ads “a positive promotion for our Great USA”, but said they would no longer be financed by taxpayers.

The decision comes after weeks of public scrutiny of the advertising campaign: Democrats demanded an investigation into the government ads featuring Trump, Republican Senator Thune came out against payment with “taxpayer dollars”, the artist JMSN asked the president to remove his song from the spot, while CNN revealed the existence of 12 more unreleased ads — all developments covered earlier on 24-ore.com.