The White House has spent days defending three taxpayer-funded advertisements that glorify President Donald Trump and are nearing at least $1.5 million in public spending. The administration says the spots are public service announcements, while critics say they look like propaganda.
White House communications director Steven Cheung posted on X that the administration was pushing back against 'Fake News' over what he called 'our epic Public Service Announcements.' In a separate statement, the White House said the ads are 'very clearly not campaign ads' because Trump is not on the ballot and there is 'no call to action.' It added that they are 'a reminder for Americans to love their country and know why it’s worth defending — at home, at the border, and abroad.'
Multiple legal experts consulted by The Associated Press said the ads appear to run afoul of federal statutes, including a law against congressionally appropriated funds being used for 'publicity or propaganda' and a law that limits the partisan political activities of government employees. Richard Painter, a former White House ethics czar under Republican President George W. Bush, said, 'You watch all three ads, they’re sheer propaganda.' Kathleen Clark, a legal ethics professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said the new ads are 'nothing more than government propaganda, aimed at helping Trump.'
The White House has also faced criticism from members of Trump’s own party. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said, 'It shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer dollars.' Sen. Mike Rounds, another South Dakota Republican, said it was not something he would have done.
The campaign began airing last Wednesday. One ad features clips of Trump talking about defeating communism alongside text promoting 'the largest tax cuts in history,' 'reigniting American manufacturing' and a call to 'defend law and order and police.' A second ad shows scenic videos of Mount Rushmore at night with quotes and clips from Trump’s Fourth of July weekend speech there honoring the country’s 250th anniversary. A third spot, first aired over the weekend, is virtually identical to an ad for Trump’s 2024 Republican reelection campaign and includes Trump warning of a 'final battle' against 'globalists' and 'warmongers.'
All three ads end with the message: 'Paid for by the U.S. Government.' The White House has not said which part of the government is supplying the funds.
According to AdImpact, the spots have so far cost more than $1.4 million and run across a wide range of TV networks around the country. The actual amount spent could be significantly more, depending on whether networks classified the ad as a political ad. The Trump administration has also increased spending on the ads and bought time on popular TV shows, including college football and National Football League programming.
With both chambers of Congress led by Republicans, any oversight would likely have to come from Trump’s allies, making hearings or other accountability efforts less likely before November’s midterm elections.
The numbers come first. When taxpayer money is routed into ads that praise a sitting president, the cost is not just measured in dollars but in public trust. Capital rewards clear rules, and government advertising that blurs the line between information and promotion invites the kind of misuse that federal law was written to prevent.
Power leaves a paper trail. The fight here is not about whether administrations run PSAs; it is about whether the taxpayer is being asked to subsidize messaging that serves political image instead of the public interest. If Congress will not police it, the market for accountability will be even smaller than the ad buy.
