Trump Says He’ll Pay For Taxpayer-funded Ads Praising Him After Backlash

President Donald Trump said Monday that he or the MAGA Inc. super political action committee would pay for a series of taxpayer-funded ads that feature him after more than a week of controversy.

Trump has faced bipartisan criticism for the spots, paid for by taxpayer dollars, which praise him. More than a dozen ads have been developed, including one entitled “God made Trump.” In them, Trump vows to take action against the “deep state” and other perceived enemies. The White House has defended the spots as "educational."

“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 on Truth Social. “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.”

Democrats have said the ads violate federal laws against using taxpayer money for “publicity or propaganda purposes.” Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland has called for investigations into what he said were a misuse of public money.

The ads were initially paid for with $20 million in funding for the Department of Homeland Security, The New York Times reported.

MAGA Inc. did not immediately respond to request for comment.

But even some Republicans have been critical of the use of taxpayer money to run ads that praise the president.

“38/58 approval … bold strategy,” one national GOP operative wrote in a text to POLITICO after Trump’s statement.

“No one wants this to be a referendum on Trump except … Trump.”

A second GOP operative also criticized the ads.

"I love my POTUS but he couldn't be more out of touch,” the operative wrote in a text. “His term has been so awful that we have to save candidates in Kansas and Alabama but we're gonna admit to wasting tax dollars on ads hyping him up.”

Even some key Republican allies of Trump have been critical.

On Sunday, during an appearance on CBS News, Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said that politicians shouldn’t spend taxpayer money on promotional ads.

“I don’t think any public official, including President Trump or Kristi Noem or John Kennedy, should spend public money on private ads for themselves.”

There are more than a dozen different ads that highlight various aspects of Trump’s presidency, including the religious-themed ad.

“I need somebody with arms strong enough to rustle the deep state,” the ad states. “So God made Trump.”

Alec Hernández, Alex Gangitano and Erin Doherty contributed to this report.