--- title: Trump's Taxpayer-Funded Ads Draw Bipartisan Criticism description: Critics have called the ads “propaganda,” but the White House says they’re “public service announcements.” canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/09/28/trump-ads-democrats-republicans-bipartisan-criticism-taxpayer-funds/ author: Chad de Guzman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-09-28T11:45:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T16:58:49.724Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump's Taxpayer-Funded Ads Draw Bipartisan Criticism og:description: Critics have called the ads “propaganda,” but the White House says they’re “public service announcements.” og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/09/28/trump-ads-democrats-republicans-bipartisan-criticism-taxpayer-funds/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd0c4347d38a0809d/6aba506982c1fd1981b0c34a/Trump-2023.png?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Trump-2023.png og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump's Taxpayer-Funded Ads Draw Bipartisan Criticism twitter:description: Critics have called the ads “propaganda,” but the White House says they’re “public service announcements.” twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd0c4347d38a0809d/6aba506982c1fd1981b0c34a/Trump-2023.png?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump's Taxpayer-Funded Ads Draw Bipartisan Criticism > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=149e76c3-ddba-4627-8048-db78f861d4ed&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Trump Is Using Taxpayer Money on Ads. Where’s the Legal Line? [Watch (HLS stream): Trump Is Using Taxpayer Money on Ads. Where’s the Legal Line?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/UEB67P6h.m3u8) (1:26)  _Published 2026-10-01. Critics have called the ads “propaganda,” but the White House says they’re “public service announcements.”_  by [Chad de Guzman](https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/)  ## Chad de Guzman Reporter Sep 28, 2026 11:45 AM UTC  by [Chad de Guzman](https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/)  ## Chad de Guzman Reporter Sep 28, 2026 11:45 AM UTC President Donald Trump declares that “this is the final battle” in one of several taxpayer-funded television ads airing ahead of November’s midterm elections, prompting bipartisan scrutiny over whether the spots violate federal law. The [30-second ad](https://x.com/NewsWire%5FUS/status/2104301734571208729) is a black-and-white video of Trump walking down a hall over audio of his warnings against “the deep state,” “warmongers,” “globalists,” “Marxists,” “communists,” and “fascists.” Trump [posted the same video on his Truth Social platform in 2023](https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/111367507621514940), but with one difference: Then, the monochromatic ad ended with words on screen calling on the viewer to join Trump’s campaign and fine print saying it was “Paid for by Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Inc.” This time, the 2026 ad says at the bottom: “Paid for by the U.S. Government.” [CNN](https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/27/politics/white-house-trump-government-funded-ad) reported that the ad aired during at least two NFL games on Sunday. [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/27/trump-government-funded-ads-midterms.html) also reported that the ad aired during _Fox News Sunday_, citing data from advertising intelligence company AdImpact, adding that the TV ad has cost more than $362,000 so far. A second [advert](https://x.com/yashar/status/2102961890762875342) with the same “paid for by the U.S. government” disclaimer began airing on Wednesday. The ad, which featured the song [“Love Me” by singer-songwriter JMSN](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60rLYaz9Q1w), showed a montage of photos and videos of Trump, intercut with campaign talking points like “largest tax cuts in history” and “reigniting American manufacturing.” This ad, which CNBC reported also aired over the weekend, citing AdImpact data, has cost the federal government nearly $920,000 to date. It also apparently did not get the approval of JMSN, who [posted on social media](https://x.com/iamjmsn/status/2103208507680215246) that he “would never authorize my music to be used for ANY political agenda or campaign.” A [third](https://host2.adimpact.com/admo/viewer/fc515b65-8eb4-4678-9297-306111a08507/), which is a minute long, features scenic views of Mount Rushmore interspersed with parts of Trump’s speech there for the Fourth of July anniversary. The ads appear to be part of a campaign blitz ahead of the November midterms, in which the GOP is hoping to defend its majorities in Congress. Some lawmakers, including from his own Republican Party, are raising concerns with Trump and the White House over the advertisements. Asked about the ads by CBS News on Sunday, Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana [said](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcAm%5FR6UfCw&t=385s): “I don’t think any public official, including President Trump or Kristi Noem or John Kennedy, should spend public money on private ads for themselves.” (Kennedy was referring to [former Homeland Security Secretary Noem](https://time.com/7382975/kristi-noem-new-job-shield-of-americas/), who came [under fire](https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/noem-defends-220-million-ad-campaign-amid-lawmaker-scrutiny-2026-03-04/) for spending $220 million on an advertising campaign for border security.) When asked about the “Love Me” ad, Senator [Thom Tillis](https://time.com/article/2026/05/11/thom-tillis-playbook-trump/) of North Carolina said that the use of taxpayer money was reminiscent of the far-right former Hungarian Prime Minister [Viktor Orbán](https://time.com/article/2026/04/12/viktor-orban-election-loss-trump/). “It’s inappropriate,” Tillis [told reporters](https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/wireStory/us-government-foots-bill-television-advertisement-featuring-trumps-136732724). Rep. [Thomas Massie](https://time.com/article/2026/05/19/massie-trump-kentucky-house-republican-primary-gallrein/), a Kentucky Republican and a vocal Trump critic, [posted on social media](https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/2104359683456643234) about the “Final Battle” ad: “Don’t worry, using taxpayer dollars to run ominous campaign ads of the President has been done before and is completely legal… in banana republics.” Democrats also raised questions. In [a Sept. 24 letter](https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/%5Fcache/files/9b675e6a-5486-4407-8958-ecb2c2d64fc6/2026-09-24-mwh-to-hon.-wiles-redacted.pdf) to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire demanded answers on the “Love Me” ad’s production cost, the agencies and external contractors involved, the source of funds, and the legal and ethical bases for the spot. Hassan wrote in her letter that the ad “does not have a clear official government purpose and appears to run afoul of federal prohibitions.” Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey [posted to social media](https://x.com/AndyKimNJ/status/2104280096865435955) about the black-and-white clip: “How much taxpayer money did the government spend on this ad?” In [another Sept. 24 letter](https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/260924%5Fletter%5Fto%5Fwh%5Fre%5Ftrump%5Fad.pdf), congressional Democrats on appropriations panels wrote to the White House that the “Love Me” ad should be taken off the air, as it was “the sort of government propaganda one might expect in North Korea, not the United States of America, and it is an egregious and illegal misuse of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars.” But the White House has defended the ads—which it called, in a Sept. 25 press release, “[public service announcements](https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/09/presidential-public-service-announcements-are-nothing-new/).” A White House official told TIME Thursday that the ads weren’t political, didn’t have a call to action, and that the President wasn't on the ballot. A spokesperson instead said that the ads were “about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad.” ## What does the law say? Since the 1950s, yearly funding bills—including the [appropriations measure](https://www.congress.gov/119/plaws/publ75/PLAW-119publ75.pdf) the President recently signed—routinely ban the use of taxpayer funds for “publicity or propaganda.” The Government Accountability Office, which investigates how appropriated funds are spent, has [interpreted](https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-11-210sp.pdf) this to refer to material that is “purely partisan,” “self-aggrandizing,” or “covert.” But it also noted that administrations may need to advocate or defend their policies. Some [lawmakers](https://x.com/MikeLevin/status/2103316697780568283) have pointed to [potential violations](https://x.com/RepRaskin/status/2103114920933904703) of the [Hatch Act](https://time.com/7326072/hatch-act-democrats-republicans-shutdown-kristi-noem-airports-video-tsa/), the 1939 act that limits the political activities of federal civilian employees in the executive branch. The President is exempt from the Hatch Act, though some argue that White House employees who facilitated the airing of the ads aren’t. Last week, the non-profit advocacy group [Public Citizen filed a complaint](https://www.citizen.org/article/white-house-spending-taxpayer-dollars-for-propaganda-purposes/) before the GAO and the Office of Special Counsel, which is responsible for overseeing Hatch Act violations, seeking investigation and enforcement of relevant laws. In defense of the “public service announcements,” the White House has pointed to previous ad campaigns during the administrations of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. (During the Bush Administration, one campaign did [violate the anti-propaganda measure](https://www.gao.gov/assets/b-302710.pdf).) “When prior Administrations utilized the airwaves, it was called ‘public education,’” the Trump White House said. “When this Administration promotes pride in our country, many of those same voices call it ‘propaganda.’” ## Transcript Have you seen the latest campaign ads from President Donald Trump? Together, we will defeat communism, socialism, and Marxism in America once and for all. The content of the ads may seem familiar, but this time they're funded by your taxpayer dollars. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have condemned the ads and called them, quote, illegal. Here's what you need to know about what the law says on the matter in one minute. So far, the ad campaign has cost over $1 million, according to estimates from Adimpact, and the ads have run during prime time slots like Sunday Night Football. Yet Trump actually signed a measure in February banning the use of taxpayer funds for publicity or propaganda. The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office traditionally interprets this to mean any material that is, quote, purely partisan. Lawmakers have also argued that the ads might violate the 1939 Hatch Act, which limits the political activities of federal employees in the executive branch. The white House, meanwhile, has defended the videos as, quote, public service announcements and compares them to ads released by previous administrations. Watchdog organizations disagree that these ads match the neutral messaging of prior campaigns and have filed complaints with the Gao. The next milestone is October 8th, the deadline Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan set for the white House to explain how these ads were funded and provide legal justification. If the judge finds that the spending was illegal, it could trigger a formal report to Congress, just as the agency called for in 2004, when it found that Bush era videos amounted to covert propaganda. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/09/28/trump-ads-democrats-republicans-bipartisan-criticism-taxpayer-funds/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/09/28/trump-ads-democrats-republicans-bipartisan-criticism-taxpayer-funds/"},"headline":"Trump's Taxpayer-Funded Ads Draw Bipartisan Criticism","datePublished":"2026-09-28T11:45:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-01T16:58:49.724Z","description":"Critics have called the ads “propaganda,” but the White House says they’re “public service announcements.”","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/09/28/trump-ads-democrats-republicans-bipartisan-criticism-taxpayer-funds/","keywords":["Trump Administration","Donald Trump","elections","News Desk","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd0c4347d38a0809d/6aba506982c1fd1981b0c34a/Trump-2023.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chad de Guzman","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/chad-de-guzman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd0c4347d38a0809d/6aba506982c1fd1981b0c34a/Trump-2023.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Trump-2023.png","caption":"","creditText":"Screenshot from Donald Trump's Truth Social account @realDonaldTrump","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/trump-administration/","name":"Trump Administration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/09/28/trump-ads-democrats-republicans-bipartisan-criticism-taxpayer-funds/","name":"Trump's Taxpayer-Funded Ads Draw Bipartisan Criticism"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Trump Is Using Taxpayer Money on Ads. 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