WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump personally instructed his budget director to use taxpayer money for TV ads praising him and his presidency, setting in motion a US$20 million (S$25.6 million) contract that used funds from the Department of Homeland Security, according to people familiar with the matter.

The ads have run across cable and network television – on Fox News, CNN and MS Now, with football games on Fox and with national newscasts on CBS, ABC and NBC, including Meet The Press, which Trump is known to watch.