Republican squirms on CNN when confronted about new Trump ad: 'Not going to defend that'

A MAGA congressman who describes himself as a spending “hawk” squirmed on CNN Monday when confronted about the Trump administration's use of taxpayer money to promote the president.

The moment came on CNN "News Central" when anchor Boris Sanchez pressed Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC) about the White House allocating $20 million in taxpayer funds for advertisements, including one dubbed “God Made Trump.”

“Well, I haven’t seen those ads, but I'm a hawk when it comes to the debt, and I’m a hawk when it comes to spending,” Moore said. “So I’d like to take a look at that.”

Moore, a Trump-endorsed MAGA Republican, said taxpayer dollars should be spent on “things that make sense” before shifting to what he described as waste elsewhere in the federal government.

But Sanchez quickly brought him back to the question.

“Does it make sense for the president to put out ads touting — talking about ‘God Made Trump’ and other things of that ilk?” he asked.

Moore again stressed that he hadn’t seen the TV spots, but still took a swipe at the spending.

“If there are ads that are the way you’re describing them, I’m certainly not going to defend the use of that money,” Moore said. “Because I think the taxpayers’ dollars should be used for things that people actually need.”

Moore then argued that wasteful spending should be targeted “wherever waste is.”

Sanchez ended the interview with an offer for the North Carolina lawmaker.

“We’ll be more than happy to provide you with some links to those ads,” Sanchez said.