Trump has pledged to pay for future ads, but White House reportedly says the $20m in taxpayer money already spent will not be reimbursed

President Donald Trump said Monday that he would stop paying for a set of television spots with taxpayer money and would cover them himself, along with funds raised for MAGA Inc. By Tuesday, the White House was drawing a line around that pledge. Officials said it does not mean the federal government will get back money already spent on the campaign.

According to Newsmax, the spots, which Trump has called “Patriotic Ads,” feature the president and promote his policies. Democrats and some Republicans had criticized the use of government money for them. Trump responded on Truth Social, then the White House followed with its own account of what the post did and did not cover.

A spokesperson told NewsNation on Tuesday that the president was not talking about sending money back. The administration has reportedly set aside more than $20 million for the wider advertising effort, though estimates of what has already been spent are not the same from one account to the next.

Officials separate future funding from money already used

Asked whether Trump intended to repay money already spent on the advertisements, a White House spokesperson told NewsNation, “The President’s Truth was not referring to reimbursement.” The comment was the administration’s direct answer to that question.

On Truth Social, Trump wrote, “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 called the earlier practice “a rather standard thing to do,” then said he had decided to pay for the ads himself and with money raised for MAGA Inc., the pro-Trump super PAC.

The White House later said MAGA Inc. would fund the advertisements going forward. Tuesday’s clarification added that the switch applies to future spending and leaves federal funds already used for the campaign where they are.

Critics have questioned whether government money can legally be used for what they describe as campaign-style political messaging. The administration has described the same spots as public service announcements promoting the country and the administration’s policies.