Americans who have been upset the past few weeks about those gray-toned, taxpayer-funded ads featuring Trump can breathe easy.
For about two seconds. That's because the president has just released a statement informing people that they are not going to stop seeing them.
“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. 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. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
So, Trump will pay for the spots himself and use money he raised for MAGA, Inc., the pro-Trump super PAC. Win/win.
The president's decision follows mounting criticism over the administration's decision to spend government money on television spots featuring Trump and promoting his record just weeks before the midterm elections.
Fair argument. The only problem is that the Democrat Party has a much bigger microphone for its Get Out the Vote operations ahead of the midterms. It's called the "legacy media."
But the criticism wasn't limited to Democrats, which partly explains the decision. Even Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) got in on the complaining.
"It's a great message. I like the message, but it shouldn't be paid for with taxpayer dollars," Thune said.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) was even more direct.
"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," Kennedy said.
The White House had defended the advertisements as public service announcements designed to promote patriotism and inform Americans about the administration's policies.
Critics argued that they looked much more like political advertising. One of the spots provided plenty of ammunition for that argument because much of it was effectively recycled from Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.
"We will liberate America from these villains once and for all," Trump says in the advertisement.
The White House is currently airing this video as an ad during commercial breaks on Fox News. It looks and sounds like a political spot and includes a disclaimer stating that it is paid for by the U.S. government. The soundtrack: as images of Trump flash across the screen, singer @iamjmsn can be heard repeating, “Love me, love me,” over and over. The video combines Trump’s anti-communist message with rapid cuts of Trump, American flags, and military aircraft, alongside claims about tax cuts, manufacturing, and policing. It ends with the UFC’s Dana White saying: “He is the toughest, most resilient person that I’ve ever met, and nothing was going to stop him from fighting so hard for the country he loves.”
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) September 24, 2026
CNN compared the government-funded version with Trump's 2024 campaign material and found the language was identical. The obvious difference was at the end: The campaign branding had been replaced by a disclaimer saying the new advertisement was "Paid for by the U.S. Government."
That's no longer going to be the case moving forward, which should be a relief to some people. Until they see the ads again, paid for by Donald Trump's PACs.
The Trump administration responded to accusations of propaganda and actually did something about it. That's more than you can say for the Democrat Party.