The White House clarified Tuesday that President Trump will not pay the federal government back for money already spent on a series of controversial political television ads, just one day after the president announced he would begin footing the bill for the spots himself.
Trump said Monday that he would personally pay for the so-called “Patriotic Ads” after facing backlash over the use of taxpayer dollars to fund them.
The president took aim at his critics in a post on Truth Social, describing the ads as a positive promotion of the country and accusing the left of being impossible to satisfy.
“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,” Trump wrote.
“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.,” the president added.
However, a White House official confirmed to NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network, that the president has no plans to reimburse the government for the money that has already been spent on the ads.
“The President’s Truth was not referring to reimbursement,” the official said.
The ads were part of a $20 million campaign. They feature Trump’s own voice declaring that the country will defeat socialism and communism.
Democrats and some Republicans were quick to criticize the ads.
The White House pushed back on that criticism, insisting the spots were not political in nature.
“The president is not on the ballot, and the ads don’t have a call to action,” a White House official said.
Vice President Vance also came to the defense of the ads, arguing that there is precedent for the federal government using taxpayer money to promote government actions. Vance pointed to ads that ran during the Obama administration promoting the Affordable Care Act as an example.
Speaking with reporters on Monday, the vice president framed the ads as a matter of transparency between the government and the public.
“It’s part of, actually, I think, living in a constitutional republic,” Vance said. “You have to be honest with the American people about what you’re doing, about what’s going on.”
The administration also found support from the nation’s top communications regulator. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) head Brendan Carr said there was nothing in the ads that “strikes me as out of the ordinary or that would merit any sort of FCC review.”
The White House’s clarification draws a clear line between past and future spending on the campaign. While Trump has pledged to pay for the Patriotic Ads, among others, using his own money and funds he raised for MAGA, Inc., the taxpayer money already spent on the ads will not be paid back.
The episode marks the latest clash between the president and his critics over the ads, which the White House maintains are not political because Trump is not on the ballot and the spots do not include a call to action. Critics in both parties, meanwhile, have objected to the ads since they first drew attention.
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