Composite story
A taxpayer-funded Trump ad runs on Fox News and Newsmax
Washington, District of ColumbiaPublished 25 Sep 2026
Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
The spot tells viewers it was paid for by the U.S. government. The White House calls it a patriotic public-service announcement. Democrats and some Republicans say public money should not pay for it.
A 30-second advertisement featuring President Donald Trump aired on Fox News and Newsmax with a disclaimer that the U.S. government paid for it. AdImpact put the buy at about $14,000. The ad says America will never be a communist country, touts tax cuts, manufacturing, and policing, and uses audio of UFC CEO Dana White plus the song “Love Me.” The White House says the president is not on the ballot and the spot is an educational announcement. Rep. Jamie Raskin says it may violate the Hatch Act. Sen. Thom Tillis compared the spending to Viktor Orban. Sen. John Kennedy said he does not like politicians using public money for their own campaign ads.
Disputed facts
None yet.
Disputed opinions
None yet.
U.S. government foots bill for television advertisement featuring Trump's midterm messaging
Published 25 Sep 2026 accessed 25 Sep 2026
Facts
Fox News and Newsmax did not immediately return a request for comment.
A quoted speaker said the ad is inappropriate.
Opinion
Jamie Raskin said it is blatantly unethical to use government resources for political campaigns.
Administration's pro-Trump TV ad is taxpayer-funded
Published 24 Sep 2026 accessed 25 Sep 2026
Facts
The White House argued that the ad is educational and not political.
Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, condemned the ad on X.
That YouTube video is not labeled the way the spot was labeled when it aired on Fox.
The Congressional Research Service says no single agency oversees department advertising budgets.
Donald Trump pushed back then on suggestions that he had approved the Noem ad.
Opinion
No opinion marked.
Trump commercial ‘paid for by the US government’ running on Fox News raises eyebrows
Published 24 Sep 2026 accessed 25 Sep 2026
Facts
The 30-second ad is titled “America Will Never Be a Communist Country.”
CBS Miami journalist Jim DeFede posted the commercial on X after seeing it air on Fox News Wednesday night.
Jim DeFede posted that the commercial played during Jesse Watters’ Fox News show.
The Independent placed the ad amid the administration’s media ban and criticism of a “state-run media” operation.
Democrats and other critics said the ad resembled propaganda.
The commercial opens with grainy black-and-white images of Trump, then brighter images of rallies and White House events.
An image of Xi Jinping appears briefly in the ad while he is in the U.S. for a summit with Trump.
Nikki Fried said the ad is pure communist propaganda.
Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democrats, said the ad was taken out of the Florida Republican playbook.
Fernand Amandi, a University of Miami political science professor, said the ad is an unmistakable sign of an authoritarian, fascist government.
Nikki Fried called the ad the pure collapse of Trump.
Joyce Alene, a former U.S. attorney appointed by Barack Obama, said voters should hold the party that condones the ad responsible in November.
The Lincoln Project posted that Trump had rolled out the red carpet for a communist hours earlier.
The administration launched a streaming channel called Trump TV after banning MS NOW, CNN, and Politico from the White House.
A federal judge ordered the president to restore the outlets’ access and said the ban was likely unconstitutional.
Donald Trump said on social media that the three outlets should not be able to constantly write or report fiction and lies.
Justice Department lawyers sought to justify the press ban on national security grounds.
Opinion
Jim DeFede said the spot is clearly a campaign ad.
Nikki Fried called the ad pure communist propaganda.
Fernand Amandi said the moment shows an authoritarian, fascist government.
Did taxpayers fund a $14K ad touting Trump’s success?
Published 24 Sep 2026 accessed 25 Sep 2026
Facts
The ad does not directly endorse any candidate.
Lawmakers in both parties questioned the ad because federal rules prohibit using tax dollars for publicity or propaganda.
Trump and other Republicans have focused on that communist-country label in speeches and ads for the midterm election.
The Government Accountability Office said the ban applies to purely partisan messaging designed to aid a party or candidates.
The Washington Post reported there was no precedent for a government-sponsored political ad during a campaign season.
The GAO said then that the videos violated anti-propaganda rules.
Thom Tillis, who is not running for reelection, called the ad inappropriate and referred to Hungary’s former right-wing prime minister, the Associated Press reported.
Lawmakers in both parties criticized Trump’s latest ad.
During Trump’s first term, HHS spent $250 million on a COVID-19 ad campaign that Democratic investigators said included partisan interests, the Washington Post reported.
The Washington Post noted that in 2004 the example was President George W.
Scrutiny of the Noem ad and of her handling of killings by federal immigration agents led the Senate Judiciary Committee to request her testimony.
The ad featured hired contractors posing as reporters.
Donald Trump fired Kristi Noem after her testimony.
Ethics experts told the Wall Street Journal the ad could violate federal law.
Daniel Weiner, senior director at the Brennan Center for Justice, told the Wall Street Journal the ad is an astonishing misuse of public resources in a campaign.
The ad appears to feature an audio clip from the Republican National Convention.
Violations of the propaganda ban can bring suspension without pay or removal from office.
A knowing and willful violation can bring a criminal fine of up to $5,000 and two years in prison.
The Bipartisan Policy Center says no one has been criminally prosecuted under that law.
Hatch Act penalties can include removal, unpaid suspension, a five-year bar on federal employment, or a civil fine of up to $1,000.
For Senate-confirmed officials, the Hatch Act leaves final discipline to the president.
Opinion
Daniel Weiner called the ad one of the most blatant misuses of public resources in a campaign he has seen.
The Latest Sign Donald Trump Is Feeling Scared About the Midterms
Published 24 Sep 2026 accessed 25 Sep 2026
Facts
Slate said the country has braced for weeks for Donald Trump’s next move to help Republicans win the midterms.
Several Trump Cabinet secretaries have hit the campaign trail.
Attorney General Todd Blanche has appeared on stage at events for Republican candidates in North Carolina and New York.
Last month Pete Hegseth flew to Iowa on a taxpayer-funded military aircraft for a fundraiser for a representative.
Last week Donald Trump posted videos endorsing Republican candidates from the Oval Office.
The Hatch Act, passed in 1939, bars federal employees from using official resources for political acts.
Pete Hegseth said Congress needs people like Zach Nunn having their back.
The president and vice president are exempt from the Hatch Act.
Kennedy Jr. and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke at Trump’s midterm rally this month.
Slate said other high-ranking Trump officials include the Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F.
The Pentagon says Pete Hegseth visited Iowa in his personal capacity and that the military aircraft was a security necessity.
The Justice Department says Todd Blanche’s campaign appearances are cleared by ethics officials and that he reimburses travel under federal rules.
Slate said Hatch Act violations have historically rarely been punished.
Government watchdogs concluded that Mike Pompeo, Mark Meadows, and other officials ran afoul of the Hatch Act in Trump’s first term.
Under Joe Biden, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm faced similar Hatch Act accusations.
None of those officials suffered meaningful consequences.
Slate said significant majorities think government corruption is endemic and many seem to blame Donald Trump.
Opinion
Slate called the taxpayer-funded ad less inventive and similarly norm-breaking.
Slate said the ad continues a long effort to use federal resources to boost Republican candidates.
Slate said the ad is a lot.
Slate dismissed that White House description.
Slate said those appearances buck the post-Watergate norm that the attorney general should avoid the appearance of partisan bias.
Slate asked whether this was the first time the administration blurred governing and campaigning.
Slate said sending Cabinet officials to rallies, filming White House endorsements, and spending public money on a Trump ad could violate both the Hatch Act and the propaganda ban.
Slate called the possible Republican midterm result calamitous.
Slate called the fundraiser’s Republican, Zach Nunn, endangered.
Slate said Trump and his circle believe a Republican Congress will never punish them, so they need not follow these rules.
Slate asked whether everything the president and his top officials do is political.
Slate said past administrations of both parties have found ways to duck the spirit of the law.
Slate said the Hatch Act has some loopholes.
Slate said voters who reject that campaign-style governing could make Trump’s effort to rescue his party fail.
Slate said a Democratic Congress is unlikely to have the votes to impeach, convict, and remove the president or his top officials.
Slate said future presidents may conclude that bending these rules is not worth it.