President Trump personally directed the use of taxpayer money for ads praising his presidency, according to people familiar with the matter. Our White House correspondent, Maggie Haberman, explains.

The government-funded ads show just how much President Trump has been able to use federal money for his own aims.

© via YouTube

As the Republicans try to hold their majority, the Senate Leadership Fund is diverting resources to Kansas, which has become a growing concern for the party.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

The Senate Leadership Fund is diverting money to Kansas, which has become a growing concern for the party as it seeks to hold its majority.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

House Democrats say officials may have illegally misused public funds to pay for president’s ‘narcissistic ego trips’

The Trump administration is facing growing questions over whether it illegally used taxpayer money to air television ads promoting Donald Trump five weeks before the US midterm elections.

Two congressional Democrats, Jamie Raskin of Maryland and George Whitesides of California, have asked federal watchdogs to investigate the ads.

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© Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

Far-right influencers piled on Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, President Trump’s former press secretary, over a campaign ad about Medicaid work requirements in Arkansas.

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In racist online posts,

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President Trump used JMSN’s song in a recent self-promotional video that was paid for with public money.

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A group supporting Dan Osborn, the independent Senate candidate in Nebraska, is airing an ad attacking Senator Pete Ricketts, a Republican, for pardoning a man convicted of sexual assault.

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John Kennedy pushes back against such spending as pro-Trump ‘public service announcements’ air before midterms

As the White House expands a taxpayer-funded advertising campaign to promote Donald Trump’s political agenda before the November midterm elections, Senator John Kennedy told CBS News on Sunday “there ought to be a rule” against such spending – before tacitly admitting such spending is “probably” illegal.

Kennedy, the US president’s fellow Republican, was asked by Margaret Brennan, the CBS Face the Nation host, about the White House spending to air multiple ads featuring Trump – including one that was produced for his 2024 election campaign.

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© Photograph: White House

© Photograph: White House

© Photograph: White House

The ad, which ethics experts said could violate federal law, shows Mr. Trump vowing to “expel the warmongers” from the government and fight the “deep state,” even as he wages a war with Iran.

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The president amplified negative social media comments about Representative María Elvira Salazar of Florida, a move that drew a rebuke from at least one Republican.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

A disclaimer says the ad was paid for by the U.S. government, which could violate federal law.

© The White House, via YouTube

The dissent reflects growing unease about the party’s prospects in November, as the G.O.P. struggles to overcome the president’s unpopularity.

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Unlike celebrity influencers with large followings, these creators produce a blizzard of videos for a fraction of the cost of traditional online campaigns and, in the process, shift public conversation.

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The party and its allies are currently set to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on advertising than Democrats are, giving Republicans some hope in a tough midterm environment.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Sneaker company removes social media ad after backlash from critics who said it resembled KKK imagery

The sneaker company Converse has removed a social media ad that sparked outrage among critics who viewed it as evoking the Ku Klux Klan and lynching.

The Instagram ad photo showed K-pop singer Karina wearing a skirt and holding a pair of Chuck 70 X sneakers. Critics lashed out online, saying that a white triangular image created by lighting on the skirt resembled a KKK hood – and that the way she held the sneakers made them look like the dangling feet of a lynching victim.

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© Photograph: Charles Krupa/AP

© Photograph: Charles Krupa/AP

© Photograph: Charles Krupa/AP

The complaint raises new questions about how a state law applies to the growing use of A.I.-generated attack ads.

© Shelby Tauber for The New York Times

A spot from the Senate candidate in Ohio seeks to dismiss the Republican Party’s focus on transgender rights as a distraction from economic issues.

© Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

The party is putting up a costly defense of states and districts that President Trump won easily in 2024. And in places like Georgia, strategists wonder if it’s too late.

© Alex Kent/The New York Times

His powerful super PAC is suddenly spending heavily on some races, after drawing fire from some Republicans that the group might not throw its weight behind the party’s candidates.

© Alex Kent/The New York Times