President Donald Trump defended the legality of the controversial advertisements promoting himself by saying that he is not on the ballot in November, as critics claims they are political in nature and could violate federal law.
“Well, I’m not running for office,” Trump said in his first comments addressing the ads. “So, the ads are, you know, given by me, but I’m not running for office, and I don’t talk about anybody.”
The funding for the ads came from federal taxpayer dollars meant for Customs and Border Protection and has received bipartisan backlash, including from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“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,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) told CBS News on Sunday.
Trump, however, appeared unconcerned that he was inappropriately using taxpayer money to boost his administration and may be violating federal propaganda laws. The White House has also defended the ads as public service announcements.
“When I’m talking about making America great, making our country great, that’s a countrywide ad. That’s an ad for the spirit of our country,” said Trump. “Now, if somebody said that that’s wrong, I’ll gladly pay the money. But … these are ads for the country.”
At least three of the ads have aired on network and cable TV, costing taxpayers at least $2 million as of Tuesday afternoon, according to AdImpact, which tracks ad reservations. The ads, titled “The Country He Loves,” “Celebrating The Enduring Spirit,” and “Final Battle,” feature voice-overs from Trump and text saying the U.S. government paid for them.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION USING BORDER MONEY TO PAY FOR TAXPAYER-FUNDED ADS
Trump denied the accusation that he was boosting himself and again pointed to “promoting” the nation as the rationale for the ads.
“These aren’t ads. I’m not promoting. You have to understand. I’m not promoting the candidate. I’m not promoting myself because I’m not running for office. I’m promoting the country,” Trump also said.
Hailey Bullis contributed to this report.