Trump said he’d pay for ads from now on after facing bipartisan backlash, but report says he is not paying back the $20m already spent

President Donald Trump said Monday evening that he would start covering a set of national TV ads himself after lawmakers from both parties questioned the spending. He wrote on Truth Social, “I have decided to do the Patriotic Ads, among others, and pay for them myself, and with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.”

By Tuesday, the White House was drawing a line under what that statement covered. A spokesperson told the Daily Mail that taxpayers would not get the money back. The spokesperson said, “The President’s Truth was not referring to reimbursement.”

The ads began running in late September. They have appeared during prime-time NFL games and on major cable news outlets, and each one carries the label “Paid for by the US Government.” Some of the footage is from earlier campaign material.

A homeland security contract funded ads that both parties challenged

Federal records show the spending is tied to a $20 million Department of Homeland Security contract for a “National Media Campaign.” The contract went to LMD Agency, a firm based in Maryland. AdImpact, which tracks advertising, estimates that more than $10 million of the taxpayer-funded ads have already aired. The ads have drawn criticism from both parties.

One spot pairs Trump with the song Love Me by JMSN. In it, he says, “Together we will defeat communism, socialism, and Marxism in America. America will never be a communist country.” Other ads show the president and members of his administration, repeat the line “America will never be a communist country,” and include scenes of US military personnel and equipment.

The White House has said the spots promote the country, not Trump or the Republican Party. A White House official said, “Presidential public service announcements are nothing new.” The official added, “Administrations of both parties have used public service announcements to explain policy and make the case for the nation’s direction.”

Officials pointed to earlier presidents as precedent. They noted that the Obama administration used taxpayer money to promote policies, including the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The US Government Accountability Office has reported that Obama-era public relations contracts totaled more than $4.4 billion.

The same official said every administration since at least George W. Bush has run ads about its policies, and that Franklin D. Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson did as well. The current spots landed weeks before the 2026 midterm elections, which is part of why the funding drew objections even from Republicans.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, “It’s a great message. I like the message. But it shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer dollars.” Maine Senator Susan Collins, who is in a tight re-election race, called the move “illegal.” Outgoing North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis said of the campaign, “I hate it.”

Democratic senators sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin asking the department to repay the money. The dispute centers on how DHS spent the money, as when DHS tapped $20m in taxpayer funds for pro-Trump ads and where it was supposed to go is raising alarms.

Their memo called the ads “illegal and a shockingly corrupt misuse of taxpayer dollars” and described the spots as effectively Trump ads. The White House position remains that the amount already spent will not be reimbursed.