The Trump administration aired a television ad this past weekend that appears to be identical to a campaign ad made for the 2024 presidential election, with one major difference: It says it has been “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
The ad joins two other campaign-like messages making that claim, including one we told you about last week that states, “America will never be a communist country,” while a chorus of voices sings “love me.”
In the ad that aired this weekend, a grim-faced Trump is seen walking down a hall as his voice, recorded at what sounds like a political rally, intones, “This is the final battle.”
“We will cast out the communists, Marxists, and fascists,” Trump says. “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.”
The ad, which appeared during some college and NFL football games, has cost more than $362,000 to air so far, CNBC reports, with taxpayers apparently on the hook for the bill, though it’s not clear what government agency is covering the cost. Spending on all of the ads has cost more than $1.7 million, according to an estimate by AdImpact.
Lawmakers take issue: Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday that he doesn’t think the federal government should be footing the bill for Trump’s ads.
“It’s a great message. I like the message,” Thune told reporters. “But it shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer dollars.”
Republican Sen. John Kennedy made the same point on Sunday. “I don't think any public official ... should spend public money on private ads for themselves,” he told CBS News. “I think there ought to be a rule that you can't – well, there probably is a rule – you can't spend public money to promote yourself.”
A group of Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, leaned into the illegality of the ads. “This is the sort of government propaganda one might expect in North Korea, not the United States of America, and it is an egregious and illegal misuse of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars,” they wrote in a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles last week. “This ad is a violation of section 718 of division E of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, a longstanding general provision prohibiting any taxpayer funds from being used to produce government propaganda.”
The lawmakers added that the airing of the ad appears to violate federal ethics laws, including the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from working on political campaigns while in office. They also demanded that the ads be taken off the air and the relevant federal employees be disciplined.
“The law is not complicated,” the lawmakers concluded. “You cannot use taxpayer dollars for political advertisements.”
White House sees no problem: The White House has defended the ads and denied that they violate any rules, saying they are merely public service announcements aimed at boosting patriotism and national pride.
“The announcements are very clearly not campaign ads; President Trump is not on the ballot and there is no call to action,” the White House said. “Instead, the announcements are a reminder for Americans to love their country and know why it’s worth defending — at home, at the border, and abroad.”