The facts
The White House has been airing television ads promoting President Donald Trump that end with the line "Paid for by the U.S. Government," weeks before the November midterms, according to the Associated Press and NBC News.
One 30-second spot shows Trump walking down a hallway in black and white, calling it the "final battle" and vowing to "demolish the deep state," "throw off the sick political class that hates our country," and "liberate America from these villains once and for all." NBC News reports Trump posted an identical ad to Truth Social in January 2024. That version ended with "Join President Trump's fight to save America" and his campaign logo. The government version drops both.
The AP reported the spot aired during at least two Sunday NFL games on Fox. Ad-tracking firm AdImpact estimates the administration has spent more than $1.7 million running these ads, according to NBC, a figure that does not capture every cable channel and market.
A White House spokesperson called them "public service announcements" meant to remind "Americans to love their country." The AP reported the White House also said they are "very clearly not campaign ads" because Trump "is not on the ballot and there is no call to action."
Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told CBS that no public official should "spend public money on private ads for themselves." Public Citizen filed complaints with the Government Accountability Office and the Office of Special Counsel, arguing the ads violate federal bans on government propaganda and the Hatch Act.
Our take
Somebody at the White House sat in an edit bay, pulled up a 2024 campaign ad, deleted "Join President Trump's fight to save America," deleted the campaign logo, typed "Paid for by the U.S. Government," and called it public service. That was the entire creative process. The rest of the money went to buying time during football.
The official defense is that there is "no call to action." The man is striding down a hallway telling you it is the final battle against villains. That is the fucking call to action. You don't need a donate button when the ad is already swinging at the "sick political class" five weeks before an election.
Compare it with the stuff it's pretending to be. A Medicare ad tells you how to sign up for Medicare. A flu shot ad tells you where the pharmacy is. This one tells Lions fans that Trump will "rout the fake news media," then sends the invoice to the same Lions fans. If this is a public service announcement, the service is Trump and the public is the one paying for it.
When a Republican senator from Louisiana has to go on Sunday television to explain that you don't buy ads for yourself with other people's money, the scheme has cleared the bar for shameless and kept climbing. Public Citizen is calling it propaganda. The White House is calling it love of country. The AdImpact tally is calling it $1.7 million and counting.
The only honest line in the whole spot is the new one at the end. It's the same bullshit ad. They just found a bigger donor, and it's you.
