‘Paid for by the U.S. Government’: Trump’s new TV ad sparks questions over who’s footing the bill

The White House could be facing accusations of breaking federal law over a TV ad that explicitly states the US government paid for it, as reported by Common Dreams. The 30-second Trump ad aired on Fox News Wednesday night. The video features a montage of President Donald Trump set to JMSN’s “Love Me.” CBS News investigative reporter Jim DeFede reported on the ad. 

The imagery in the video leans on the anti-communist messaging Trump has aimed at Democrats ahead of the midterm elections. Throughout the ad, President Trump is heard speaking against political ideologies, saying, “Together we will defeat communism, socialism, and Marxism, in America,” before adding, “America will never be a communist country.”  The bright red text then touts the largest tax cuts in history and a vow to defend law and order.

In the final seconds of the Trump ad, it shows 2024 Republican National Convention footage of UFC CEO Dana White, a longtime Trump friend who has dismissed claims that his White House UFC card was political. “He is the toughest, most resilient person that I’ve ever met,” Dana White says in the ad. The words “Paid for by the US government” appears in large white letters as White speaks.

The controversial Trump ad would surely get a rise from Americans

Jim DeFede, the CBS investigative reporter who first flagged the Trump ad after it played during Jesse Watters’ show, described the taxpayer-funded message as “clearly a campaign ad.” That label matters legally, as annual appropriations laws forbid using federal funds for publicity or propaganda. The Office of Special Counsel enforces the Hatch Act, and it could review the Trump ad if a complaint is filed. However, any finding would likely arrive after the November 3 midterm elections, as such investigations typically take months.

The Government Accountability Office has long held that the executive branch cannot spend federal money on purely partisan material or self-aggrandizement. Any staff involved could also face Hatch Act scrutiny, as the law forbids federal employees from using their official authority or government resources for partisan activity. The president himself is exempt from the law, but his senior staff and appointees are covered.

The administration has faced repeated accusations of allegedly violating these rules, including using official agency websites to blame “Radical Left” Democrats for last year’s government shutdown. It remains unclear which government employees created and funded the Trump ad. The spot was the “weirdest way to violate the Hatch Act, ever,” Max Flugrath, the communications director at voting rights group Fair Fight, wrote on X.