By ASHNA BALROOP AND RHIANNON EVANS
Capital News Service
WASHINGTON–President Donald Trump’s new taxpayer-funded television advertisements are sparking backlash from Democrats who consider the ads illegal and a misuse of federal dollars.
U.S. Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and George Whitesides, D-Calif., are demanding that federal watchdogs investigate the Trump administration’s use of taxpayer dollars to produce and air the ads.
“Stealing taxpayer dollars to pay for Mr. Trump’s narcissistic ego trips is plainly illegal,” Raskin, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Whitesides said in a press release.
But the White House says the ads are public service announcements reminding Americans to love their country.
“The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic,” a White House spokesperson said in an email to Capital News Service. “We should be proud of our country.”
One ad features photos of Trump during his presidency as well as from his 2024 campaign trail while he says in a voiceover, “America will never be a communist country.” The artist JMSN’s song “Love Me” plays in the background.
Another ad is a rerun from his 2024 campaign, in which Trump claims he will fight communism, Marxism and fascism.
The ads have aired during news broadcasts and NFL games. Each ends with, “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
Raskin and U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., say the campaign-style ads are political.
They air as midterm elections are weeks away and Trump is campaigning for GOP candidates.
“Trump’s ad is an egregious and utterly illegal misuse of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars,” Hoyer wrote in a Sept. 25 X post. “This ad must immediately be taken off the air, and those responsible must be appropriately reprimanded for this violation.”
“This is the sort of government propaganda one might expect in North Korea, not the United States of America,” Hoyer said in a Sept. 24 letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. He sent the letter along with U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.; U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.
U.S. Rep. Johnny Olszewski, D-Md., told Capital News Service, “The fact that President Trump is using taxpayer dollars to promote himself while Americans can’t afford to put food on the table or keep a roof over their heads is insulting. And it’s the latest example of how out of touch this president is with what Americans are dealing with.”
Capital News Service reporter Claire Huss contributed to this article.
