The spot ends with a "paid for by the U.S. Government" disclaimer, but who funded it within government has not been identified.
A second ad features Trump declaring, "This is the final battle," then laying out aims that include expelling "the warmongers from our government" and liberating "America from these villains once and for all." AdImpact ties that messaging to a 2024 digital ad used during Trump's second White House bid - promises made before the war in Iran - and reports the TV placements included NFL games on Sunday and Fox News Sunday. Spending on that ad has climbed past $362,000.
Democrats currently lead in national polling with a little over five weeks to go, and they are trying to end GOP control of both the House and Senate.
Members of both parties objected to using public money for the ads so close to an election. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., on Thursday sent a letter addressed to Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, warning, "The advertisement 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.'" She also criticized "President Trump's growing list of expensive vanity projects - including the White House ballroom - that are estimated to cost over $1.8 billion."
Top Democrats on the Appropriations Committees noted that spending bills regularly forbid spending federal money on propaganda. As the most recent funding law put it, "No part of any appropriation contained in this or any other Act shall be used directly or indirectly, including by private contractor, for publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States not heretofore authorized by Congress." They added a pointed coda: "If President Trump wants people to love him, he can pay for it himself."
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The White House sees it differently."
However you vote, here is the takeaway: taxpayer-funded communications can blur into campaign-style content, and the price tags are not trivial. Nearly $1.3 million has already gone toward these two ads, with the midterms fast approaching. That is real public money meeting political messaging - and a reminder to watch how government dollars are used, especially when the calendar gets close to Election Day.
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