Trump used taxpayer funds to make campaign-style ads — and now his super PAC is running them

A super PAC tied to President Donald Trump has begun broadcasting a commercial that the White House itself seems to have produced, and the Democratic National Committee has told a court about it. MAGA Inc. aired a near-identical copy of a 27-second spot titled "Every Democrat Voted Against No Tax on Tips," which the White House had posted online on October 12 and Trump shared on Truth Social two days later. The only addition was a disclaimer naming the PAC as payer, according to The Independent.

In a Monday filing, DNC litigation director Daniel Freeman argued that White House staff, whose pay comes from congressional appropriations, developed the material, so the PAC avoided the expense of making its own. The DNC wants the White House barred from creating and sharing this and at least 12 other ads handed to LMD Agency, which won a $20 million contract. DNC spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández described the effort as an attempt to rescue Trump's poor approval numbers.

Separately, a federal judge has frozen Department of Homeland Security money for the ads, though they kept airing in nearly 400 slots afterward and Justice Department lawyers apologized. Plaintiffs put the tally at over 16,000 airings and $15.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →