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Taxpayer-funded Trump ads draw bipartisan scrutiny ahead of midterms

2 h ago

**Main Entity:** Trump administration taxpayer-funded ads **Primary Keywords:** Trump ad, taxpayer-funded propaganda, midterm elections, bipartisan scrutiny, government publicity **Search Intent:** Readers seeking news on political campaign spending, ethics violations, and midterm election advertising controversies **Core News Point:** U.S. government-funded pro-Trump television ads airing ahead of November’s midterm elections face bipartisan criticism for potentially violating federal anti-propaganda laws. The Trump administration is spending taxpayer money on pro-Trump television ads ahead of November’s midterm elections, drawing bipartisan scrutiny over whether the campaign violates federal restrictions on government-funded publicity and propaganda. One ad, featuring President Donald Trump saying “America will never be a communist country” and touting “largest tax cuts in history,” aired on national networks including CBS’ “Face the Nation” and college football games. Advertising intelligence firm AdImpact reports the government has spent nearly $920,000 on that spot. A second ad, costing over $362,000, aired during NFL games and “Fox News Sunday,” with Trump calling it “the final battle” and vowing to expel “warmongers from our government.” A White House spokesperson defended the ads as “public service announcements” meant to remind “Americans to love their country,” calling them “educational and unapologetically patriotic.” However, the ads mirror Republican campaign messaging, branding Democrats as “communists” and touting tax cuts—key themes ahead of the midterms. Democrats lead in national polling with just over five weeks until the election. Lawmakers from both parties have objected. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., wrote to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, arguing the ad “does not have a clear official government purpose and appears to run afoul of federal prohibitions against the use of appropriated funds as part of ‘a general propaganda effort designed to aid a political party or candidates.’” Top Democratic appropriators said, “If President Trump wants people to love him, he can pay for it himself.” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., also criticized the ads on “Face the Nation,” stating, “I don’t think any public official … should spend public money on private ads for themselves.” The most recent government funding bill explicitly bans using federal dollars for “publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States not heretofore authorized by Congress.”