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Trump Refuses to Reimburse Federal Government for Patriotic Ads

By Drooid · Oct 7, 2026, 5:34 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

U.S. President Donald Trump will not reimburse the federal government for the taxpayer-funded “Patriotic Ads.”
The campaign has spent about $11.6 million on more than a dozen ads, funded by a $20 million DHS contract.
Lawmakers from both parties criticized the ads as potentially violating federal law on public-fund use for propaganda.
A minute-long ad aired Tuesday featuring Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

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Story summary

U.S. President Donald Trump will not reimburse the federal government for the taxpayer-funded “Patriotic Ads.”
The campaign has spent about $11.6 million on more than a dozen ads, funded by a $20 million DHS contract.
Lawmakers from both parties criticized the ads as potentially violating federal law on public-fund use for propaganda.
A minute-long ad aired Tuesday featuring Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.