Trump handpicked the images and video used in his taxpayer-funded ads: report
Por Rhian Lubin — – World RSS Feed
Trump handpicked the images and video used in his taxpayer-funded ads: report
The campaign-style ads began rolling out last week ahead of the midterm elections and have drawn bipartisan criticism over the use of taxpayer money
Rhian Lubin in New York Tuesday 29 September 2026 14:30 BST
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President Donald Trump handpicked images and video used in his taxpayer-funded ads that glorify his presidency, according to a report.
The campaign-style ads began rolling out last week ahead of the midterm elections and have drawn bipartisan criticism over the use of taxpayer money.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the ads pushed “a great message” but added they “shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer dollars.” A former Trump campaign official told CNN that the ads were “dumb, dumb, dumb beyond belief.”
One ad that aired during the NFL on Sunday that warned America of a “final battle” for the nation was almost identical to a TV ad used by the Trump campaign in 2024.
The ad was edited to remove the “Trump 2024” branding at the end and replaced it with a notice stating, “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
open image in galleryOther ads touted Trump’s anti-communist message, railed against the “fake news,” and featured the president vowing to expel “the warmongers,” “globalists and deep state” actors from the government.
The president personally “orchestrated” the ads, created in-house by the White House communications team, according to CNN, citing people familiar with the matter.
The White House has argued that the ads are akin to public service announcements, and compared them to previous administrations promoting Medicare or Covid vaccination policies.
“These public service announcements are about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad,” a White House spokesperson said. “The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country.”
Steven Cheung, White House communications director, accused the media of lying about the ads in a post on X. “Don’t let the Fake News get away with their lies about our epic Public Service Announcements that have been running on tv,” he said, with a link to a press release outlining that Trump “is not on the ballot and there is no call to action.”
Atorneys for Christian Berishaj, the singer-songwriter who performs as JMSN, sent Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles a cease-and-desist letter on Monday after the administration used the song “Love Me” in the ad that first aired on Fox News without his permission.
open image in galleryIt’s unclear how much the Trump administration has spent on the ads, but the costs are likely to have exceeded $1 million, according to AdImpact.
Democrats blasted the commercials and have demanded they be pulled from the air.
“The inept White House political propagandists are using our money on government-sponsored campaign TV ads for the sinking GOP,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
“The latest commercial tries to rally the dwindling MAGA base by reminding them that Trump once posed as a fighter against warmongers and a corrupt political establishment, but the recycled ad just sharply reminds everyone that the lying Trump is the war-maker-in-chief and presides over the most corrupt presidential administration in U.S. history,” Raskin added.
In an earlier statement, the Democrat said the ads “may be felony criminal theft and conversion of government property for political campaign purposes.”
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