President Donald Trump reversed course Monday, announcing on Truth Social that he will personally pay for a series of campaign-style television ads instead of using federal money. The ads will be funded by him and his MAGA Inc. super PAC, he said, after bipartisan criticism erupted over taxpayer funding of the spots so close to the November midterms.
The controversy centers on at least three nationally broadcast 'golden age of America' ads — one of them virtually identical to a 2024 campaign ad — that AdImpact estimates cost taxpayers at least $10 million to air. Democrats have said the White House transferred $20 million in Homeland Security funds to bankroll the campaign.
The reversal came as California Attorney General Rob Bonta called Monday for an independent investigation into what he described as a 'staggering misuse of public funding.' FCC Chair Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, rejected a request to investigate the ads. NBC News first reported Trump's reversal Monday evening.
