FCC chief says government-funded Trump ads are ‘normal’ and ‘raise no red flags’

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said Wednesday that new pro-Trump TV ads financed with government funds do not “deserve any sort of review by the FCC.”

“It doesn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary to me,” Carr said of the ads running across the country in recent weeks.

Asked about claims that the ads were “propaganda,” Carr laughed.

The White House has “explained that these are just normal PSAs, public service announcements, that you see all the time. I don’t think there’s anything unique or different about it,” he said at a news conference.

“There’s nothing in there that seems to me to merit any sort of review by the FCC,” said Carr, who Trump appointed to the agency.

A reporter pointed out that the progressive advocacy group Public Citizen filed a complaint with the FCC, pointing out that the Trump campaign used one of the ads in 2024.

Carr brushed aside that concern, telling reporters that “there are groups on the left that, you know, have been working for a long time and pushing to weaponize the FCC license renewal process” but that the ads “don’t raise any red flags.”

Public Citizen did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Anna Gomez, the FCC’s only Democratic commissioner, told NBC News in a statement: “I recognize the concern shared by others that taxpayer dollars are being used to promote a political message, particularly given the timing of these ads so close to an election.” »

“While it is not surprising to see the FCC applying double standards when it comes to its investigative decisions, I am sure we will hear more about this from the Members of Congress, who are ultimately responsible,” her statement said.

The use of federal funds to finance the ads has drawn bipartisan criticism, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., saying they “should not be paid for with taxpayer dollars” and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., calling them “an absolute violation of what democracy is supposed to look like.”

Trump defended the ads when questioned Wednesday in the Oval Office.

“I’m not running for office and I’m not talking about anyone,” he said. “When I talk about making America great, making our country great, that’s an advertisement on a national scale. It’s an advertisement for the spirit of our country.”

“Now if anyone says this is false, I will gladly pay the money. But these are advertisements for the country,” he added.

The first of the ads shows Trump describing how he wants to “defeat communism” while the song “Love Me” by JMSN plays in the background.

Another spot is a slightly shorter version of a 2024 Trump campaign ad, which shows him walking down a hallway as he asks people, in voiceover, to join him in his “final battle” to “tear down the deep state” and “expel the warmongers from our government.”

In its complaint Tuesday, Public Citizen said the messages were thinly veiled campaign ads intended to motivate Trump supporters ahead of the upcoming midterm elections and were illegal.

“Federal law explicitly prohibits the use of public funds for government propaganda, self-aggrandizement, or partisan political advertising. Yet this is exactly the nature of Trump’s recent campaign ads,” the complaint states, adding that none of the ads to date “meet the standards of a public service announcement.”

“They do not refer to any specific government program and are not intended to inform the public about any specific government program,” the complaint states.

Carr made headlines for using his position to attack late-night comedians like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel and network programs that he claimed had liberal biases.

The FCC issued an order this year directing the eight television stations owned and operated by Disney to file for renewal of their broadcast licenses ahead of schedule after the White House and ABC clashed over a joke Kimmel made about first lady Melania Trump.

Disney is challenging the review with a lawsuit alleging the FCC seeks to pressure and retaliate against “a network that refuses to comply with the administration’s demands.” Carr said the review of the ABC license arose from the FCC’s investigation into Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices — not “speech.”