特朗普总统承诺将使用其“让美国再次伟大”超级政治行动委员会（MAGA Inc.）的资金，为一项备受争议的纳税人资助广告活动买单。
President Donald Trump has pledged to use money from his MAGA Inc. super PAC for a controversial taxpayer-funded ad campaign.
阿里·斯文森、金胜民 华盛顿报道 —— 在特朗普总统表示将开始用竞选账户支付有争议的纳税人资助广告费用的第二天，目前没有迹象表明他计划退还已花费在广告上的数百万联邦资金。
ALI SWENSON, SEUNG MIN KIM WASHINGTON — A day after President Donald Trump said he would start paying for controversial taxpayer-funded ads with a campaign account, there’s no sign he plans to refund the millions of federal dollars already spent on them.
据AdImpact统计，作为国土安全部拨款2000万美元合同的一部分，近1200万美元的广告已经播出。但一名未获授权公开发言、要求匿名的白宫官员表示，特朗普用MAGA Inc.资金支付广告的计划，并不意味着会有任何报销。
Nearly $12 million worth of ads have already aired, according to AdImpact, as part of the $20 million the Homeland Security Department tapped for the contract But Trump’s plan to pay for the ads with MAGA Inc. doesn’t mean there’s any reimbursement coming, said a White House official who was not authorized to talk publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
参议院民主党领袖查克·舒默周二抨击特朗普政府不归还这笔钱，并表示他认为总统承担未来费用的计划构成了与其超级政治行动委员会的非法协调。
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday slammed the Trump administration for not repaying the money and said he believes the president’s plan for covering future costs represents illegal coordination with his super PAC.
舒默对美联社表示：“特朗普必须把这笔钱还给美国人民，必须对这种严重浪费和滥用纳税人钱财的行为进行全面调查。”
“Trump must return this money to the American people and there must be a full investigation into this gross waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars,” Schumer told The Associated Press.
这四则广告于9月下旬开始播出，歌颂特朗普并呼应其进入中期选举前的政治信息。其中一则广告包含特朗普谈论共产主义威胁的片段，另一则则是他上届总统竞选广告的重播。
The four ads, which began airing in late September, glorify Trump and echo his political messaging going into the midterms. One features a clip of Trump talking about the threat of communism and another is a replay of an ad from his last presidential campaign.
共和党人和民主党人都表示，这些广告并非美国政府资金的适当用途。来自南达科他州的共和党参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩表示，这些广告不应由纳税人买单。
Republicans and Democrats alike have said the ads aren’t an appropriate use of U.S. government money. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, said they shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer dollars.
法律专家指出，这些广告甚至可能违反联邦法规，包括一项禁止将国会拨款用于“宣传或宣传鼓动”的法律，以及另一项限制政府雇员从事党派政治活动的法律。
Legal experts said the ads might even violate federal statutes, including a law against congressionally appropriated money being used for “publicity or propaganda” and another limiting the partisan political activities of government employees.
白宫为这些广告辩护，称其属于公共服务公告，类似于历届政府为推广政策所做的工作。特朗普周一在其 Truth Social 平台发文，称这些广告是“为我们伟大的美国进行的正面宣传”，同时承诺将用“为 MAGA Inc. 募集的资金”支付费用。这是特朗普的政治资金库，截至7月底已积累超过4亿美元。特朗普已开始动用这笔资金，助选全国各地的共和党候选人参加中期选举。
The White House has defended the ads as public service announcements similar to what past administrations have done to promote policies. Trump on Monday posted on his Truth Social platform calling the ads “positive promotion for our Great U.S.A.” while also promising to pay for them with “money I raised for MAGA Inc.” That is Trump’s political war chest which had amassed more than $400 million by the end of July. Trump has begun to tap it to boost Republican candidates around the country in the midterm elections.