A series of pro-Trump campaign-style advertisements funded by the federal government has returned to television screens nationwide, prompting renewed concerns among Democrats and Republicans about potential ethics violations.
The new commercials closely mirror ads financed and broadcast by Trump’s presidential campaign before the 2024 election, with a few notable differences.
In one spot, Trump walks down a hallway while warning about the so-called “deep state,” “warmongers,” “communists” and “fascists.” The message is nearly identical to one he posted on social media ahead of the 2024 election.
“This is the final battle,” Trump says in the online advertisement.
But the commercial ends with a different disclaimer: “Paid for by the US government.”
The updated advertisement has aired during NFL games and Fox News Sunday. Its cost to taxpayers has reached an estimated $362,000, CNBC reported, citing figures from advertising intelligence firm AdImpact.
According to AdImpact, it is one of three rebranded pro-Trump television ads that have appeared during the final push toward the midterm elections. The spending has triggered renewed ethics concerns and backlash, including from Republicans in Congress.
Trump arrives to speak at the Republican National Committee midterm convention in Dallas, Texas. A series of pro-Trump campaign ads has raised ethics concerns ahead of the midterm elections.
Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, listens during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing. Kennedy is among several Republicans who have criticized the rebranded campaign ads.
Attendees cheer during the second day of the Republican National Committee midterm convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
The total amount the government has spent on the pro-Trump advertisements remains unclear.
Ethics lawyers and some Republican members of Congress have questioned whether the ads could violate the Hatch Act, the 1939 law that restricts the political activities of most executive branch employees.
“The president and his administration have gone from breaking the law to trampling it,” Norm Eisen, a former White House ethics czar during the Obama administration, told the New York Times while discussing the taxpayer-funded advertisements.
The White House has defended the commercials, describing them as “educational” and “unconditionally patriotic” public service announcements.
A White House spokesperson told Our News Outlet on Monday that the updated ads are “not unlike” public service announcements broadcast by previous administrations, including those of former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.
The television spots are “clearly not political” and contain no “call to action,” the spokesperson said in response to a request for comment.
“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,” the spokesperson added.
Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, criticized the government’s use of reworked Trump campaign advertisements in a social media post.
Trump supporters gather near an anti-Trump protest outside the Republican National Committee midterm convention in Dallas.
Trump is seen before delivering remarks at the GOP midterm convention in Dallas, Texas.
‘It is blatantly unethical under numerous federal ethics provisions proscribing the use of government resources for political campaigns,’ Raskin said over the weekend.
Other Democrats in Congress, including ranking appropriations committee lawmakers, have demanded the White House provide information on the cost of producing and running the advertisements.
Other Republicans have also expressed concerns about the ads.
Outgoing GOP Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina described the ad spots as ‘inappropriate.’
‘It’s not like they need a GoFundMe page to have the dollars to do that sort of ad and they could do it,’ Tillis said.
‘But using taxpayer dollars, it feels like Viktor Orban,’ he added.
And Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana weighed in on CBS News’s ‘Face the Nation.’
‘No public official should spend public money on private ads for themselves,’ Kennedy, a Republican, said in the interview.
The White House, he added, ‘ sees it differently.’
