U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he departs for a state visit to Britain, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., September 16, 2025. REUTERS Kevin Lamarque
The huge sums of money that the Department of Homeland Security received from Congress in the "One, Big Beautiful Bill Act" in 2025 are the source of the funds for the taxpayer-funded ads President Donald Trump is running on channels across the U.S.
The Wall Street Journal reported the bombshell on Tuesday, revealing that it tracked down the funding source thanks to people familiar with the matter.
"The taxpayer money used to fund the ads that started airing last week came from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, an arm of DHS that oversees the Border Patrol and customs and immigration at airports," the Journal wrote, citing the sources.
The report explained that it isn't unusual for U.S. Customs to run TV and radio ads discouraging foreigners from coming to the U.S. or telling undocumented immigrants to self-deport. The new Trump ads, however, are being attacked as outright "campaign ads." In one case, former ethics czar Norm Eisen said that Trump "recycled" one of his 2024 campaign ads to use for these publicly financed commercials.
That spot, the Journal explained, was "almost identical" to a video Trump posted on Truth Social in 2024, even using the same sentences and wording.
A CNN report Monday night revealed that Trump "personally" helped create the ads from the government accounts.
Already, Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.) is asking for an investigation.
“These public-service announcements are about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad,” the White House claimed in a statement. “The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country.”
Homeland Security refused to comment.
"By Sunday evening, the ads had aired nearly 90 times across national television networks, including Fox, Newsmax, MS Now and CBS, at an estimated cost of $337,000, according to ad-tracking firm iSpot. TV. The commercials have also run extensively on local television stations, with 2,311 airings, according to AdImpact, a firm that tracks political ads. An estimated $1.4 million is behind the local ads, according to a modeled estimate from AdImpact," said the Journal.
The government watchdog group Public Citizen launched a lawsuit to get the ads pulled off the air.
Another group, Democracy Forward, which has sued Trump before on other matters, submitted a public records request related to the ads.
The organization's director, Skye Perryman, said Trump's commercials raise larger questions about whether the administration is using public funds as a “personal political war chest.”
It isn't the first time that DHS has come under fire for running commercials. Former Secretary Kristi Noem put herself in ads in various costumes to talk about the work she was doing. A company connected to Noem was paid $200 million for the ad campaign. She then testified to Congress that Trump approved the money, something he said did not happen.