Trump’s multimillion-dollar taxpayer-funded ad campaign ends Sunday, officials say

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The Trump administration has spent $19 million in taxpayer money on the controversial ad campaign to promote President Donald Trump and his policies, a push that officials say will end on Sunday.

The administration allocated $20 million for the ads, which were classified as “public service announcements,” from US Customs and Border Protection , CNN previously reported. An advertising company, LMD Agency Inc., “purchased media buys under the terms of the Order through Sunday, October 11, 2026, at an approximate cost of $19,000,000,” senior Department of Homeland Security official Holly Mehringer said in a sworn declaration in a court case surrounding the ads.

The Department of Homeland Security, which includes CBP, directed LMD “to not make any additional media buys past October 11,” she added. Mehringer noted there are “no plans” to purchase any additional ads.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed concerns about the campaign, and last week, Trump announced that he will pay for the ads with funds raised for his super PAC, MAGA Inc.

The Trump administration created at least 13 campaign-style ads, some of which have aired on TV networks including CBS, CNN, MS NOW, Fox News and Fox. Watchdog groups, including the nonprofit, nonpartisan Common Cause, have said the ads mark a clear violation of appropriations law restricting the use of federal funding for propaganda or partisan communications. Common Cause and the Democratic National Committee separately sued the Trump administration over the ads.

In a response to the Common Cause lawsuit, the Justice Department said in a filing late Saturday that an effort to halt the spending should be denied because the ads “will not continue past tomorrow.”

CNN previously reported that Trump has personally driven the video ads, including helping select the imagery and videos used, according to a source familiar with the matter. Two Trump advisers familiar with the ads said they were being created in-house by the White House video team — which is part of the communications team, responsible for the administration’s public messaging — though at least one of them was produced by a pro-Trump meme group.

Mehringer, in the court filing, described the ads as “depicting the President of the United States and his administration’s various efforts related to protecting America’s borders, including enhancements of border security by combating drug trafficking,” though that is not the exact substance of many of the ads obtained by CNN.

And while the Justice Department conceded the ads “(attack) a generic list of ‘villains,’” it emphasized they did not “address any specific race, electoral candidate, or party.”

A White House spokesperson said Monday that Trump did not plan to reimburse the government for the money already spent on the ad buys, and Mehringer and other officials did not indicate any plans for a refund.

The White House Office of Management and Budget last month allocated $20 million in taxpayer money from CBP for what it called “OBBBA commemorative events.” (OBBBA is an abbreviation for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Trump signed into law in 2025.)

Mehringer emphasized in her declaration that that money “did not fund the creation or production of any videos or media” and “only funded the airing of preexisting media.”

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin was pressed during an appearance Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on whether the taxpayer dollars would be refunded.

“Anytime we can do a public service announcement and brag about America, I’m all about it,” Mullin said, taking aim at negative coverage of the Trump administration as he pointed to success in securing the border and lowering fentanyl-related deaths.

“We should be bragging about what’s happening inside America,” he said, adding, “I commend the opportunity of President Trump to give us the opportunity to brag about America.”

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特朗普政府已花费纳税人1900万美元用于这项备受争议的广告宣传活动，以推广唐纳德·特朗普总统及其政策。官员们表示，这项宣传活动将于周日结束。

据美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）此前报道，美国政府从海关和边境保护局拨款2000万美元用于投放这些被归类为“公益广告”的广告。国土安全部高级官员霍莉·梅林格在与这些广告相关的法庭案件中宣誓作证称，一家名为LMD Agency Inc.的广告公司“根据该行政命令的条款，购买了媒体广告位，有效期至2026年10月11日星期日，费用约为1900万美元”。

她补充说，包括美国海关与边境保护局在内的国土安全部已指示LMD“在10月11日之后不得再进行任何媒体购买”。梅林格指出，目前“没有计划”购买任何额外的广告。

两党议员都对这场竞选表示担忧，上周，特朗普宣布他将用为他的超级政治行动委员会 MAGA Inc. 筹集的资金来支付广告费用。

特朗普政府至少制作了13则竞选风格的广告，其中一些已在包括CBS、CNN、MS NOW、福克斯新闻和福克斯电视台在内的多家电视网络上播出。包括非营利性、无党派组织“共同事业”（Common Cause）在内的监督机构表示，这些广告明显违反了拨款法，该法限制将联邦资金用于宣传或党派传播。“共同事业”和民主党全国委员会分别就这些广告对特朗普政府提起诉讼。

针对“共同事业”组织提起的诉讼，司法部在周六晚些时候提交的一份文件中表示，阻止广告支出的努力应该被驳回，因为这些广告“不会持续到明天”。

据CNN此前报道，一位知情人士透露，特朗普亲自主导了这些视频广告的制作，包括参与挑选所使用的图片和视频素材。两位了解这些广告的特朗普顾问表示，这些广告是由白宫视频团队内部制作的——该团队隶属于负责政府公共信息的通讯团队——尽管其中至少有一则广告是由一个支持特朗普的表情包制作小组制作的。

梅林格在法庭文件中将这些广告描述为“描绘美国总统及其政府为保护美国边境所做的各种努力，包括通过打击毒品走私来加强边境安全”，但这与 CNN 获得的许多广告的实质内容并不完全一致。

虽然司法部承认这些广告“攻击了一系列‘恶棍’”，但它强调这些广告“没有针对任何特定的种族、选举候选人或政党”。

白宫发言人周一表示，特朗普不打算偿还政府已用于广告购买的资金，梅林格和其他官员也没有表示任何退款计划。

白宫管理和预算办公室上个月从美国海关与边境保护局拨款2000万美元纳税人资金，用于所谓的“OBBBA纪念活动”。（OBBBA是《一项宏伟法案》（One Big Beautiful Bill Act）的缩写，该法案于2025年由特朗普签署成为法律。）

梅林格在声明中强调，这笔钱“没有用于创作或制作任何视频或媒体”，“只是用于播放已有的媒体”。

国土安全部长马克韦恩·穆林周日做客哥伦比亚广播公司新闻节目“面对国家”时，被问及纳税人的钱是否会被退还。

“只要有机会做公益宣传，吹嘘美国，我都会全力支持，”穆林说道，他抨击了对特朗普政府的负面报道，并指出美国在加强边境安全和降低芬太尼相关死亡人数方面取得了成功。

“我们应该为美国国内正在发生的事情感到自豪，”他说道，“我赞赏特朗普总统给我们提供的这个机会，让我们有机会为美国感到自豪。”