Trump Says He’ll Pay for ‘Patriotic Ads’ Himself Following Controversy Around Taxpayer-Funded TV Spots

After controversy erupted over Donald Trump‘s administration buying TV ad time (with taxpayer dollars) to air advertisements endorsing the president, Trump has now said he will fund what he calls “patriotic ads” himself.

In a statement posted to Truth Social on Monday, 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. 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! President DONALD J. TRUMP”

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Variety previously reported Thursday that the administration had begun running the advertisements, which say that the president is fighting “communism, socialism and Marxism” as well as “the fake news media” among other claims, on Fox News, Newsmax, CBS, Fox, NBC, MS NOW, CNN and ABC.

In a statement to Variety, a White House spokesperson said, “These public service announcements are about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad. The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country.”

Last month, it was reported that the White House had spent more than $440,000 of U.S. taxpayer dollars on pro-Trump TV ads, which the White House again defended, noting that the “announcements are very clearly not campaign ads; President Trump is not on the ballot and there is no call to action,” they said, framing the advertisements as an act of patriotism. “Instead, the announcements are a reminder for Americans to love their country and know why it’s worth defending — at home, at the border, and abroad. That’s not partisanship — that’s a government that still believes in the country it serves.”