President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that his new taxpayer-funded ads promoting his administration are simply championing the United States.
“These are ads for the country… I’m not promoting a candidate, I’m not promoting myself because I’m not running for office,” the president told reporters Wednesday. “I’m promoting the country.”
The White House spent more than $1 million to begin airing the ads last week on Fox News, including one commercial that closely resembles a 2024 presidential campaign ad from Trump. The ads feature several obvious praises of the president, including a voice-over of him proclaiming his administration is “the beginning of the golden age of America” and voices repeatedly singing “love me” as images of Trump play across the screen.
In one of the ads, Trump states “America will never be a communist country.” In another, he says, “This is the final battle … we will demolish the deep state,” and “We will cast out the communists, Marxists and fascists.”
Trump, who has faced criticism from some Republicans over the ads, said Wednesday that he would “gladly pay the money” if the commercials were found to be illegal.
But earlier in the day, Trump-appointed Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr said that the ads don’t “merit any sort of FCC review.”
“It doesn’t strike me as anything at all out of the ordinary,” he added.
A consumer watchdog nonprofit, Public Citizen, filed a complaint with the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission Tuesday, urging broadcasting and antitrust regulators to instruct broadcasters not to air the ads.
The nonprofit also asked the Government Accountability Office and the Office of Special Counsel to investigate whether the ads violate federal laws, including the Hatch Act, which prohibits using government funds for political purposes.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) was among the Republicans who’ve criticized the ads, saying earlier this week that while he likes them, their funding source is questionable.
“It’s a great message. I like the message,” Thune told reporters on Monday.
”But it shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer dollars.”