The Trump administration has created at least 13 campaign-style ads as part of its controversial, multimillion-dollar, taxpayer-funded effort to promote President Donald Trump and his policies.
The spots that have yet to air include a trio of ads highlighting the U.S. military and operations in Iran and Venezuela, one titled “God Made Trump” and another recapping the UFC fight he hosted at the White House. Republicans and Democrats alike have questioned the wisdom of spending so much taxpayer money on ads, which the White House has defended as public service announcements.
CNN obtained clips from 12 commercials, ranging in length from 15 seconds to three minutes, two of which have already aired. They appear on a Dropbox account – shared with CNN – managed by LMD, the agency that won the government contract. for the announcement buys. Each ends with “Paid by the US Government” at the bottom of the screen. Another ad that doesn’t appear in the Dropbox account, “Final Battle,” has also been running in recent weeks.
The three previously released ads appeared on television networks including CBS, CNN, MS NOW, Fox News and Fox. It is unclear whether all ads will run on television or digital platforms.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Although each of the ads has a different theme, many of them include images of the president and audio recordings with positive reviews from news reports, which is likely to intensify criticism that the campaign is using taxpayer money to help Trump personally. They also include patriotic images – including the coin toss at a military graduation, fireworks on Mount Rushmore and military flyovers.
First lady Melania Trump, who has been a rare presence at the White House during the president’s second term, appears in many of the ads. There are also images of Trump’s reciprocal announcement on tariffs, the border wall, his escalator presidential campaign ad and the ironic framed photograph of an automatic pen depicting former President Joe Biden on Trump’s “Presidential Walk of Fame.”
CNN previously reported that Trump personally directed the video ads, including helping to select the images and videos used, according to a source familiar with the matter. Two Trump advisers familiar with the ads said they were created internally by the White House video team — part of the communications team, responsible for the administration’s public messaging — although at least one of them was produced by a pro-Trump meme group.
The ads released so far have drawn widespread condemnation, although the White House says it plans to step up its efforts. Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said in an article on X that the ads “may constitute criminal theft and conversion of government property for political campaign purposes.” If Democrats take control of the House next year, he will gain subpoena power in Congress.
Even some Republicans criticized the ad campaign.
“Look, if you want to spend money from your super PAC or another campaign account to communicate that message, that’s fine. It’s not an appropriate public service announcement. It’s just not, you know, it’s not how we should be spending taxpayer dollars,” said Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said “no,” the ads are not an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars. “It’s not even a specific question.”
The “UFC 250” ad heavily promotes the company and the June fight Trump hosted at the White House, prominently featuring UFC CEO Dana White as well as the fighters, the illuminated “claw” above the octagon and the championship belt.
The “Maduro” spot intersperses a speech by Nicolas Maduro with appearances by Trump and his team at Mar-a-Lago after the Venezuelan dictator’s capture.
And “Military Hype” shows images of fighter jets and unclassified videos of what appear to be missile launches. It also includes Trump’s speech in February announcing war with Iran, a conflict that remains deeply unpopular with the American people.
“This regime will soon learn that no one should challenge the strength and might of America’s armed forces,” Trump says in the ad, seven months after the start of the war.
Some of the ads are decidedly political: The two-minute “King of the Jungle” video features footage of Trump’s alleged political enemies — former Presidents Barack Obama and Biden, Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, all Democrats. There is video of lions hunting in the wild and a bald eagle sweeping across the water. A cover of In This Moment’s “In the Air Tonight” plays. And Christopher Walken’s lion’s speech in the 2002 film “Poolhall Junkies” is interspersed.
One of the spots, a three-minute ad titled “God Made Trump,” aired during the Republican midterm convention in Dallas. In it, Trump is presented as a messianic figure with a riff on Paul Harvey’s “God Made a Farmer.” It was created by Dilley Meme Team, according to NPR, and started going viral earlier this year.
“I need someone with arms strong enough to shake up the deep state, and yet gentle enough to give birth to a grandchild of their own. Someone to ruffle feathers,” the voiceover says, “So God made Trump.”
The “Resilience” ad shows Trump at several points in his life, including the start of his real estate career in New York, an appearance he made on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” his descent on the escalator at Trump Tower as he announced his candidacy in 2015, and then his time in the White House. In the audio, a journalist calls him the “bodyguard of Western civilization.” His 2023 photo from the Fulton County, Georgia Sheriff’s Office is featured prominently, along with video of an assassination attempt on him in Butler, Pennsylvania.
An estimated $2.5 million in taxpayer dollars has already been spent on these ads, according to AdImpact, a major political ad tracking company. The true cost of the taxpayer-funded ad campaign is even higher, but cannot be fully determined because PSAs are subject to different public disclosure rules than campaign ads.
A total of $20 million has been allocated to this effort. The money for these ads comes from Customs and Border Protection, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Watchdog groups have said the ads are a blatant violation of the appropriations law restricting the use of federal funds for partisan propaganda or communications, but it is unclear whether outside groups have standing to sue. Although the ads faced bipartisan criticism, Congress — which the groups said had the clearest path to ensuring some accountability — took no action to block the ads.
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