The facts
On October 7, Common Cause, Robert Hunter, SEIU Local 32BJ and its Empire State 32BJ SEIU PAC sued the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the Office of Management and Budget, Director Russell Vought, the Executive Office of the President and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in the Southern District of New York (Case No. 26-cv-8882), over taxpayer-funded television ads praising President Trump.
According to the complaint, six weeks before contentious midterm elections, Trump and members of his administration decided to use taxpayer funds to boost Trump's image, help Republican candidates and hurt Democratic candidates and causes. At the White House's direction, the complaint alleges, OMB shifted DHS funds appropriated for border security, technology, and screening, allocating an additional $20 million for commemorative events related to border security, a category Congress created to pay respects to officers who died in the line of duty, recognize department anniversaries and honor victims of crime. The plan was never to use the money for those purposes, the complaint says: the day after OMB's budget maneuvering, DHS signed a $20 million contract for the national broadcast of ads praising Trump.
The money trail, as the complaint lays it out: for fiscal 2026 the administration had apportioned $500,000 of Customs and Border Protection's budget for commemorative events. On September 19, OMB increased that apportionment by $20 million. The next day, DHS signed a $20 million contract with LMD, the marketing and advertising agency producing and distributing the ads. Days later, the ads were on the air.
One of them, "Final Battle," first aired September 26. The complaint says it is identical to an ad Trump ran as a campaign ad in 2024, with one change: the disclaimer now reads "Paid for by the U.S. Government." The spot is 30 seconds of Trump walking down a hallway, vowing in voiceover: "This is the final battle." He goes on to promise to demolish the deep state, "drive out the globalists", rout "the fake news media" and liberate America from "these villains" once and for all
The White House has called the spots "public service announcements" that are "educational and unapologetically patriotic." As of 11:00 a.m. Eastern on October 7, the complaint says, the campaign had run at least 13,971 spots, generated an estimated 1.39 billion impressions and cost taxpayers an estimated $12.6 million.
On October 5, Trump posted that he would do the "Patriotic Ads" himself and pay for them with his own money "and with money [he] raised for MAGA, Inc.", the super PAC he openly describes as under his control despite federal election law prohibiting such control. He also called the taxpayer funding "a rather standard thing to do," and a White House official later called the ads "nothing new." The next day, a White House spokesperson said "the president’s Truth was not referring to reimbursement." An administration official confirmed Trump would only pay for the ads "moving forward" without saying whether the $20 million already obligated would be spent first. The taxpayer-funded ads kept airing on October 6 and 7, and a new spot, "Maduro" premiered October 6, one day after Trump said he would stop the taxpayer-funded advertising. By 11:00 a.m. on October 7 it had aired 277 times, most during "CBS News Mornings."
Our take
Let's be perfectly fucking clear: this is not a public service announcement. This is a public self-service announcement. The Trump administration took money meant to honor dead cops, flushed it directly into a television, and had the gall to call the resulting shit an 'educational and unapologetically patriotic' use of funds. That's not patriotism, you cunts. That's a felony with a voiceover about the deep state. The only thing 'unapologetic' here is the staggering scale of the grift. They didn't even bother to make a new ad. They just took a campaign spot, swapped the 'Paid for by Trump' line for 'Paid for by the U.S. Government,' and called it a day. The disclaimer is the most honest work any of these pricks have done in years. Congratulations, America. You just bought 13,971 airings of your president's greatest hits. The $12.6 million already spent? That's your money, gone. Poof. Think of it as a tribute to the fallen, reimagined as a tribute to Donald J. Trump's fucking ego. Then, the punchline got even better. Trump posted that he'd pay for the ads himself. His own staff immediately had to walk it back, clarifying that his 'Truth was not referring to reimbursement.' In other words: 'Just kidding, suckers! You're still on the hook!' They confirmed he'd only pay 'moving forward,' which is bureaucrat-speak for 'We're keeping the $20 million we already stole, but we *might* stop stealing more after we've finished spending it.' And to prove they give zero shits, they premiered a brand new taxpayer-funded ad, 'Maduro,' the very next day. The day after he said he'd stop. 277 times in a few hours. The sheer, balls-out contempt for you, for the law, for the concept of decency, is the real product here. The ad is just the receipt. This is the final battle, alright: the final battle between your wallet and a administration of greedy, thieving dickheads who think the Treasury is their personal campaign slush fund. They're not even hiding it. They're charging it to the fallen officer memorial fund and airing it on CBS fucking Mornings. Absolute villains, indeed. Paid for by the U.S. Government. Literally. What a bunch of bastards. Fuck every single one of them. The lawsuit can't come fast enough.
