The White House confirmed that President Donald Trump won’t reimburse the federal government for the $20 million-plus it has spent on public service announcements that critics have compared to campaign ads.
“The President’s Truth was not referring to reimbursement,” a White House spokesperson told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday when asked if the president is “paying back the money already” spent on the ads.
Trump’s super PAC, MAGA, Inc., has confirmed it is paying for the forthcoming ads.
Trump complained about the criticism on Monday, citing how previous administrations of both parties have had PSAs, though they tended to promote specific policies or faced similar legal challenges.
“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,” he 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. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
DEMOCRATS FEAR EARLY VICTORY TALK COULD MAKE VOTERS COMPLACENT AND HAMPER TURNOUT
Earlier Monday, Vice President JD Vance defended the ads, which have been paid for by money previously appropriated for the Department of Homeland Security.
“If you look historically, you know, go back to the Obama administration with the Affordable Care Act, you have the people’s government using tax dollars to advertise about what the government is doing,” he said. “It’s part of actually, I think, living in a constitutional republic. You have to be honest with the American people about what you’re doing, about what’s going on, and part of that is getting out there and telling the message.”
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
