Pro-Trump ads paid by taxpayers aired after judge said stop : NPR

Key Points:

• Despite President Trump's announcement that his MAGA Inc. super PAC would fund his promotional ads, the U.S. government continued to pay nearly $10 million for these ads after October 5, according to an NPR analysis.
• The ads, which promote Trump and his policies, have been criticized by lawmakers from both parties and were ruled by a federal judge to be canceled, yet they continued airing for several hours after the order.
• The White House maintains the ads are public service announcements promoting patriotism and not campaign-related, but lawsuits argue they violate restrictions on taxpayer-funded publicity and propaganda.
• A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed overwhelming bipartisan disapproval of using taxpayer funds for such election-related ads, with 86% of Americans and 80% of Republicans deeming it inappropriate.
• The White House stated the government-funded ads ceased after the court ruling and future ads will be funded by outside groups, though they did not reimburse taxpayer money already spent.