Trump's PAC will now pay for 'patriotic' TV ads after bipartisan fury over $10m taxpayer spend

From the Newshound archive · first published 6 October 2026.

President Donald Trump has reversed course and announced his MAGA Inc super PAC will fund a series of national television advertisements that had already cost taxpayers more than $10 million since September. The ads, which ran with the disclaimer 'Paid for by the U.S. Government,' featured Trump pledging to 'defeat communism' and 'demolish the deep state,' with critics from both parties arguing they violated federal laws against using public funds for political propaganda. Trump blamed the row on the 'radical left' before announcing the U-turn on Truth Social. The $20 million Homeland Security contract funding the campaign was awarded to LMD Agency on September 20.

At least one ad included footage previously used in Trump's 2024 campaign, fuelling legal concerns.

Senate Democrats wrote last month that the ads were 'the sort of government propaganda one might expect in North Korea.'

The artist JMSN, whose song 'Love Me' featured in the ads, has disputed the use of his music.