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Page A4From§Eachthe early evening edition — 5 October 2026

Trump insists the ad isn't political, then has his political committee pay for it.

By ChipStaff Writer

“Facing Backlash, Trump Says His Super PAC Will Pay for Taxpayer-Funded Ads”, 6 October 2026 (Photo via The New York Times — the original report)

As it ran on the front

Start with the defense itself, because it is a good one: on Sept. Hold that thought.

The ads in question are the same ones Thune flagged on Sept. 28 — repurposed 2024 campaign material, an on-screen disclaimer reading "Paid for by the U.S. Government," and a voiceover of the president vowing to cast out the communists, Marxists and fascists. The complaint, you could say, is a labeling problem — no. It is a content problem. The money is taxpayer money and the ad is a campaign ad with a government seal stapled to it.…

…(cont) By Sept. 29 the complaint had a price tag. Democrats and The Wall Street Journal put the spending at up to $20 million in Department of Homeland Security funds, Customs and Border Protection money specifically, with some members of Congress calling it grounds for impeachment. Senate Republicans, in a separate account the same week, went further than Thune, warning the president directly against using taxpayer dollars "to promote himself in such a brazenly political way" — not a question about paperwork, a question about the ad itself.

On Sept. 30 the president made exactly the defense I opened with: not a candidate, not running for office, an ad for the spirit of the country. It held for one day.

On Oct. 1, CNN and MS NOW ran the ads anyway, in select markets — the same two networks the administration had tried to bar from White House grounds the month before — while legal experts and government watchdogs said the spending violated the law against taxpayer-funded political propaganda.

And on Oct. 5 — well. The president announced that MAGA, Inc., his own super PAC, will now pay for the ads that have been running: the ones promoting him, the ones he said last week were about the spirit of the country and not about him. Now the PAC pays. If the ad truly had no connection to a candidate, there would be no reason for a political action committee to pick up the bill going forward. The bill moved. The ad didn't.

“They ran a campaign ad through Homeland Security, got caught, and now they're running the same ad through a super PAC — same voice, same message, different wallet. The ninety dollars that landed in your account came out of the same building; the five grand still isn't coming. Count the money, not the apology.”
Sal
“This was never a campaign ad — it's a public message about the country, paid for like any other public message, and if that counts as political then every State of the Union is a campaign ad too. Now that the PAC is writing the check, there's obviously nothing left to question here — wait, why would a political committee need to pay for a non-political ad? Forget I said that.”
Chip

Earlier in this story

The receipts

· Thune bucks Trump’s campaign-style ‘PSA’ ads for using taxpayer money from the morgue, 28 Sep 2026

· Impeachment Calls Grow as Dems Say Up to $20 Million in Taxpayer Funds Were Used for 'Illegal' Pro-Trump Ads from the morgue, 29 Sep 2026

· 'Just Despicable': MS NOW and CNN Air Trump's Illegal Taxpayer-Funded Ads from the morgue, 1 Oct 2026

· GOP senators push back on Trump’s taxpayer-funded ad from the morgue, 29 Sep 2026

· Trump defends government-funded ad campaigns: 'I'm not promoting a candidate' from the morgue, 30 Sep 2026

· U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine Now Involve an Oil Deal Tied to Trump Allies from the morgue, 4 Oct 2026

· Trump says Ukraine and Russia have agreed to energy target ceasefire from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026

· Witkoff touts 'substantive progress' after peace talks with Ukraine, Russia from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026

· Trump envoys hail ‘encouraging’ talks in Kyiv to end Russia-Ukraine war from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026

· Witkoff, Kushner to visit Moscow and Kyiv in renewed push to end Russia-Ukraine war from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026

· Trump says US to send one-time $90 payment to 20m seniors enrolled in Medicare from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026

· Trump announces US will send $90 checks to 20 million seniors enrolled in Medicare from the morgue, 3 Oct 2026

· Analysis Finds Up to 10 Million People Have Lost Healthcare Coverage During Trump's Second Term from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026

· Treasury confirms plan to auto-enroll millions of children in Trump accounts from the morgue, 29 Sep 2026

· The Big Beautiful Bill Is Starting to Bite Before the Election from the morgue, 23 Sep 2026

· 'Sickening and Unacceptable': Anger Mounts as Trump and Vance Gleefully Rip Healthcare From 750,000 from the morgue, 23 Sep 2026

· Many Americans are relying on multiple forms of credit to cover expenses. When is it a warning sign? from the morgue, 23 Sep 2026

· Trump gave ‘the red meat,’ Vance was playing for independents: Bob Cusack from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026

· Fox News’s Baier presses Vance on Trump’s $5K dividend promise from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Pritzker: Vance is Trump's 'chief bootlicker' from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026

· Bessent Defends Faltering Bond Market Intervention from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Bessent says Treasury is ‘examining’ ability to cut $5,000 checks without Congress from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Bessent’s move to tamp down rising rates backfires as bond yields jump, stocks tumble from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026

· The bond market is revolting — and your mortgage is the first casualty from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026

· Fiscal hawks skeptical of Bessent’s claim that US can ‘grow our way out’ of $40 trillion debt from the morgue, 27 Aug 2026

· Bessent blasts Warren’s ‘sciolistic’ letter about yen policy from the morgue, 29 Aug 2026

· Soros-funded Philadelphia district attorney insinuates Trump is a ‘35-time felon,’ calling $5,000 dividend a bribe from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Soros-funded Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad Thursday from the morgue, 31 Aug 2026

· Voters have a blunt message for Trump about his idea to dole out $5,000 checks from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Why Donald Trump has a Joe Biden problem from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Does Trump have a 'Biden problem' on the economy? from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Trump’s $5,000 dividend falls flat with GOP senators from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026

· Trump sees backlash over $5K dividend pledge from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Trump plan to raise debt limit on shaky ground from the morgue, 26 Aug 2026

· 5 things to know about Trump's $5K dividend pledge from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Vance strikes back at concern $5,000 Trump dividend will stoke debt: ‘Wealth will go back to the people’ from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Marshall backtracks on support for $5,000 Trump dividend in Kansas Senate debate from the morgue, 12 Sep 2026

· Vance and MAGA Inc. work to defend Roger Marshall in redder Kansas from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026

· Roger Marshall Sued 700 Patients for Debts; 81 Were Arrested. Now He’s a Senator. from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026

· Conservatives would scream ‘bloody murder’ if Democratic president offered dividend to maintain power: Guy Benson from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026

· Will Trump's payout promises boost Republican appeal to white women? from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026

· Republicans need a Reagan-style vision to win the battle over America's future from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026

· Trump’s promised $5,000 ‘dividend’ checks: What to know from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Trump’s Reckless $5,000 ‘Dividend’ from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026

· Republicans bet the House on Trump from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026

· Axelrod dismisses the idea of the proposed $5000 ‘Trump dividend’ from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Trump pledges $5K 'Trump dividend' if Republicans hold onto Congress from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Trump says $5K dividend checks to Americans will 'happen 100 percent' from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026

· Lawler deflects on supporting Trump's $5K dividend pledge: 'How do you pay for it?' from the morgue, 13 Sep 2026

· GOP rep says priority 'needs to be the military,' not $5K checks from the morgue, 13 Sep 2026

· Susan Collins calls Trump’s $5,000 dividend proposal with no cap ‘extraordinarily costly’ from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026

· Bret Baier presses Paxton on Trump $5K dividend payment support from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026

· Gavin Newsom calls Trump’s $5K voter payout ‘bulls—’ and a ‘desperate’ power grab from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026

· Trump pitches $5,000 checks, but only if GOP wins House and Senate from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Trump's $5,000 payments would reignite inflation, economists say from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Why Trump's promised $5,000 payments to Americans are unlikely to happen from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Bond yields rise modestly after Trump's dividend pledge from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· GOP leaders blindsided by Trump’s promise of $5K checks from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Trump promises Obamacare rebates to people in swing states from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Steve Scalise says details of $5,000 dividends would "obviously have to be worked out by Congress" from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Trump’s $5,000 dividend pledge divides Republicans over spending from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Many Republicans skeptical about Trump plan to tie $5,000 dividends to GOP wins from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Anger Grows Over 'Pathological Liar-in-Chief' Donald Trump's $5,000 Midterm Bribes from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Spiking Bond Yields Pay the Rich and Squeeze Everyone Else from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026

· Trump-aligned group releases first midterm ads — and they’re all about him from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026

· The Memo: Bond market turmoil heightens midterm risks for Trump and GOP from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026

· Trump’s Plan To Cut $5,000 Checks For Americans Not Landing With Many Midterm Convention Attendees from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Texas Democrat Gina Hinojosa backs Trump’s $5,000 dividend but rejects conditional payout from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Voters may accept Trump’s bribes, but the bond markets aren’t biting from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· In Trump's Second Term, Average US Family Forced to Spend $3,800 More on Essentials from the morgue, 27 Aug 2026

· Why not to bank on Trump's $5,000 dividend checks happening from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Trump shares details on $5,000 dividend with CBS News Texas from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Some Republicans Balk at Trump’s $5,000 ‘Dividend’ Offer from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· The political risk behind Trump’s $5,000 pledge: From the Politics Desk from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Bob Cusack raises concerns over Trump’s $5,000 check proposal: ‘Deficits matter, debt matters’ from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

· Global sell-off in government bonds intensifies from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026

· Trump vs. the Bond Market from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026

· The United States House of Representatives passes the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 by 227 votes to 203. After being sent to the United States Senate for a vote, the Senate's parliamentarian found tha from the morgue, 19 Dec 2017

· The attorney general of New York announces she is suing the Donald J. Trump Foundation and its directors, President Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., Ivanka Trump and Eric Trump. (CNBC) from the morgue, 14 Jun 2018

· Trump gambles big on midterm elections with convention spotlight from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026

· Vulnerable Republicans divided over wisdom of Trump’s midterm convention from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026

· Republican strategist knocks Trump for not spending more on GOP candidates from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026

· Republicans ready for 'very hasty' 'Trump-a-palooza' convention in Texas from the morgue, 30 Aug 2026

· Some Republicans are planning to skip Trump’s GOP convention from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026

· Trump promises $5,000 ‘dividend’ for adult Americans if Republicans win midterms from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026

This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.