Catch up quickly: The video shows Trump declaring “together we will defeat communism, socialism and Marxism in America once and for all” to the song “Love Me” by JMSN.
- He touts Trump-era policies: “The biggest tax cuts in history,” “Reviving American manufacturing,” “Defending law and order and policing,” and “America will never be a communist country.”
- The clip went viral after CBS News Miami investigative reporter Jim DeFede announced he saw it during a break on Fox News Wednesday night.
- Top Democratic appropriators wrote to the White House on Thursday, arguing that using taxpayer dollars for advertising violates a federal ban on government “advertising or propaganda.”
Follow the money: AdImpact estimated spending on advertising at $14,000. It aired on Fox News and Newsmax, AP reported.
- The ads also ran on television, including on CBS, which reported that several government-funded 30- and 60-second spots were airing.
What they say: In a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Democratic lawmakers called the ad “the kind of government propaganda that would be expected in North Korea, not the United States of America, and is a blatant and illegal misuse of American taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars.”
- The four Democratic creditors say the ad violates the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026, which prohibits taxpayer funds from being used to produce government propaganda.
The other side: A White House official said Friday that the PSAs were “clearly not political,” noting that Trump was not on the ballot in the Nov. 3 midterm elections and that the ads did not call for action.
- A White House spokesperson said in an emailed statement Friday: “These public service announcements are intended to remind Americans to love their country and understand what is worth fighting for, at home, on our borders, and abroad. The ad is educational and decidedly patriotic. We should be proud of our country.
Zoom out: A White House official noted that previous administrations have used taxpayer dollars for public service campaigns, highlighting Medicare and anti-drug messaging under George W. Bush, an Environmental Protection Agency campaign under Barack Obama and the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
- The official also highlighted government messaging during the two world wars under Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Flashback: The Government Accountability Office has already found that some taxpayer-funded messages issued by Republican and Democratic administrations violated federal restrictions on government propaganda.
- In 2004, the GAO found that the Bush administration’s Medicare news segments did not disclose the government as a source to viewers.
- In 2015, the GAO found that an EPA social media campaign conducted during the Obama era violated the ban because some posts could reach the public without revealing EPA’s role as creator.
Between the lines: The GAO said that concealing the government’s role is essential to finding covert propaganda. Trump’s spot explicitly identifies itself as being “paid for by the US government.”
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