Trump says he will stop using taxpayer funds for self-promoting ads after backlash - US politics live

Key Points:

• Donald Trump announced he will stop using taxpayer funds for television ads promoting himself, which had cost at least $1.5 million and sparked backlash, and instead use funds from his super PAC, MAGA Inc, to pay for future ads.
• Trump defended the ads as “positive promotion for our Great U.S.A” and blamed criticism on the “Radical Left,” but provided no details on reimbursing taxpayers for the ads already aired or how political funds will be used going forward.
• The White House, which had previously defended the use of federal funds for these ads, confirmed that MAGA Inc will pay for such ads in the future but did not clarify how compliance will be verified.
• In related political developments, Trump’s approval rating dropped to a record low 32% as he campaigned in Nebraska, and Politico was barred from traveling on Air Force One, continuing tensions with certain media outlets.
• Other news includes a major measles outbreak in Pennsylvania and New York, the Supreme Court hearing a climate change-related case against oil companies, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio denying a direct link between US bomber removal from a UK base and a suspected Iranian plot.