Trump repurposes campaign ad as ‘PSA’ using taxpayer dollars

Sept. 28 (UPI) — An ad for President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign has returned to airwaves, this time with the message saying it’s paid for by the U.S. government, an act some critics say could violate federal law.

The ad features a black-and-white clip of Trump walking down a hallway in slow motion as he rails against “warmongers,” “globalists” and the “deep state.”

“We will cast out the communists, Marxists and fascists,” he says in the ad. “We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout the fake news media, and we will liberate America from these villains once and for all.”

At the conclusion of the ad, the words “Paid for by the U.S. Government” appear on the screen. The 2024 version concludes with “Join President Trump’s fight for America” with information on how to contribute to his campaign.

The Washington Post reported that the new version of the ad aired during multiple college and NFL football games over the weekend, Saturday Night Live and Fox News Sunday. The government spent more than $300,000 on the ad, though it’s unclear exactly which government agency paid for it.

It’s one of multiple pro-Trump administration ads that have been funded by taxpayer funds, The New York Times reported. Some experts say they amount to propaganda, which federal law prohibits the use of public funds for.

“The president and his administration have gone from breaking the law to trampling it,” Norm Eisen, former White House ethics special counsel, told the Times.

“The prior ad was bad enough, but this one openly repurposes prior political conduct.”

The White House, though, said the ads amounted to public service announcements “reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending at home, at our borders and abroad.”

“Don’t let the Fake News get away with their lies about our epic Public Service Announcements that have been running on TV,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., in an appearance Sunday on CBS’ Face the Nation, said public officials shouldn’t use public money to fund such ads.

“Now, the White House sees it differently. But I think there ought to be a rule that you can’t — well there probably is a rule — that you can’t spend public money to promote yourself.”