White House defends taxpayer-funded pro-Trump ad aired on Fox News as public service announcement
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The administration says the $443,000 ad promoting President Trump is a non-partisan public service announcement, while Democrats argue it may breach federal rules on government use for political campaigning.
The White House said on Friday that a 30-second advertisement featuring President Donald Trump that aired on Fox News was a routine public service announcement funded with taxpayer money. The ad, which includes Trump’s remarks about “defeating communism, socialism and Marxism in America,” was also posted on official government TikTok and YouTube channels before the broadcast.
The administration argued the spot does not call for votes, noting that Trump is not on the ballot and that the message is intended to remind Americans of national values. It contrasted the ad with previous non-partisan government spots produced under the George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden administrations, which did not contain partisan language or images of the incumbent president.
Critics, including Representative Jamie Raskin, said the ad could violate the Hatch Act and other ethics rules that prohibit the use of government resources for political purposes. Raskin described the expenditure as “felony criminal theft and conversion of government property for political campaign purposes” and warned of potential violations for any federal employees involved.
AdImpact, a political-advertising monitoring firm, reported that the ad aired in major markets such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, D.C., and that the White House has spent at least $443,000 on the campaign. A second Trump-focused spot was also broadcast on Newsmax, featuring footage from a July 3 speech at Mount Rushmore and images of supporters waving Trump flags.