White House buys campaign ads with public money for Trump
By Maya Ellison · Reporting from Detroit ·
Taxpayer-funded television spots featuring Donald Trump warn of a final battle, forcing working families to bankroll partisan propaganda disguised as public service announcements.
Turning the people's treasury into a personal megaphone The White House launched a taxpayer-funded television ad before the November midterms. The spot features imagery of President Donald Trump walking down a hall. Donald Trump says in the ad, “this is the final battle.” He continues, “We will cast out the communists, Marxists, and fascists. We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout the fake news media, and we will liberate America from these villains once and for all.”
CNN reports the audio echoes comments Trump made during a 2023 Veterans Day speech. The ad aired on Sunday during Fox’s broadcasts of two NFL games. It ran during the Washington Commanders-Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers-Cleveland Browns matchups. This mirrors McCarthyism, reviving the practice of accusing individuals of communist influence to consolidate political power.
The White House stated its new commercials “are very clearly not campaign ads.” It compared them to earlier public service announcements about Medicare, Obamacare, and Covid-19 vaccination. But CBS News reports the ad is nearly identical to a video Trump posted on Truth Social in January 2024. The Truth Social video contains an extra six seconds with Trump’s campaign logo and a text number. The government-funded ad displays “Paid for by the US Government” across the screen at the end.
AdImpact captured another government-funded ad featuring Trump denouncing communism and socialism. That spot touts accomplishments such as “reigniting American manufacturing.” AdImpact captured a third ad featuring Trump at Mount Rushmore. Trump says, “Never before has any nation celebrated so magnificent a triumph as this one.” The White House defended the spots as public service announcements to promote national pride. A spokesperson claimed the ad is educational, patriotic, and a reason to be proud of the country.
Looting public funds while working families pay the tab Common Cause suggested the ads could violate rules against using taxpayer dollars for propaganda. Carol Evans, vice president for policy at Common Cause, questioned why the president must use public funds to promote his image before an election. ABC News reports the ad ran repeatedly on Fox News and Newsmax. AdImpact reported the spot cost roughly $14,000. Donald Trump boasts about his record and vows the country will never be communist. The ad displays text praising tax cuts, manufacturing, and police in red letters. It includes a clip of UFC CEO Dana White calling Trump resilient and tough.
Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers. CBS News reports that Sen. Maggie Hassan wrote to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles demanding cost details. Hassan said the ad raises deep concerns about the misuse of taxpayer dollars. She noted the spot lacks an official purpose and appears to violate prohibitions against using appropriated funds for political propaganda. Sen. Patty Murray, Sen. Jack Reed, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, and Rep. Steny Hoyer also demanded the ad be pulled. They called it an illegal misuse of hard-earned tax dollars.
Richard Briffault, a Columbia University law professor, agreed the ad may violate propaganda law. Sen. Jacky Rosen introduced a bill to ban taxpayer-funded political ads featuring cabinet members. Rep. Jamie Raskin condemned the ad on X. He warned it may constitute criminal theft and conversion of government property, as well as a Hatch Act violation.
Forcing ordinary citizens to bankroll executive vanity The White House and its apologists want us to believe these spots are innocent civics lessons. They claim the ads are educational and unapologetically patriotic. But this administration is siphoning public funds away from working families to pay for vanity commercials during NFL broadcasts.
Flint taught me what happens when those in power treat public resources as their own private slush fund. The 2026 Unified Agenda details a record-setting $1.5 trillion in projected regulatory cost savings. It dismantles labor and environmental protections while public funds pay for political ads.
Richard Briffault notes the ad does not explicitly endorse a candidate. Yet when the state spends taxpayer dollars to broadcast political grievances and attacks on the free press, it serves concentrated executive power.
Donald Trump, White House officials, and network executives who cash the checks are wrong to launder campaign messaging through federal accounts. Federal appropriations bills ban the use of funds for unauthorized propaganda. Justice requires an immediate halt to this ad blitz, a full accounting of agency spending, and the recovery of every diverted public dollar.