John Thune
Role at the time: Senate majority leader; U.S. senator from South Dakota
Condemned
Statement summary
John Thune approves the ads' message but opposes paying for them with taxpayer dollars.
“It's a great message. I like the message. But it shouldn't be paid for with taxpayer dollars.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Lawmakers cry foul over publicly funded Trump TV ads · Roll CallParagraphs quoting John Thune and Thom Tillis
Roll Call quotes Thune approving the message while opposing taxpayer payment.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The conduct under scrutiny is federal funding for Trump-promoting ads. Thune rejects that funding; liking the message does not defend the spending.