The FCC and the FTC have been asked by Public Citizen to step in and prevent broadcasts of White House commercials pushing Donald Trump. The group wants the two agencies to halt the airing of three ads built to lift the image and standing of Donald Trump as part of the Republicans’ campaign for November’s midterm elections.
Last week saw the first airings of these ads. One takes its form from a commercial run by the Trump campaign prior to the 2024 presidential election, which showed him walking in black-and-white footage. The sole change from the original 2024 version is the inclusion of the words “paid for the US government.”
One commercial displays pictures of the president at several occasions, him declaring “America will never be a communist country” over the sound of a choir singing Love Me. A separate commercial presents images of Mount Rushmore with Trump stating the US is “the most successful, most accomplished, most exceptional nation ever to exist in human history.”
The Law Against Government Advertising
Public money cannot be spent by the government on propaganda, self-promotion, or partisan political advertising, according to federal law. Broadcast stations must accept ads from any legally qualified political candidate, without exception. Yet Trump is not officially running for office, even though he has asked voters to picture him on the November ballot.
The organization Public Citizen wrote: “It is the greater responsibility of both the FCC [and] FTC and individual broadcasters to keep the airwaves fair and honest and operate in the ‘public interest, convenience, and necessity.'”
Funding From Customs and Border Protection
According to The Wall Street Journal, the ads were backed by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which handles immigration enforcement and falls under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The DHS was scrutinized earlier this year after a $200m advertising campaign that boosted Kristi Noem, then the homeland security secretary. Noem told a congressional committee that Trump had “signed off on the ads.” Her testimony reportedly infuriated Trump, who subsequently fired her.
The Ads Have Already Run
Additional commercials are scheduled to air, with Trump personally selecting which ones to feature. By Sunday evening, these ads had run more than 90 times across national channels, including Fox, Newmax, MSNow and CBS. They appeared during:
- Saturday Night Live
- Fox News Sunday
- Several college and NFL football games
Public Citizen said the cost of the three ads already broadcast was estimated at more than $1m.
The White House Pushes Back
On its website, the White House denounced the criticism as “highly dishonest.” It compared the ads to previous public service announcements by past presidents, dating back to Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D Roosevelt in the first and second world war. It also cited administrations of George W Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
“The announcements are very clearly not campaign ads; President Trump is not on the ballot and there is no call to action.” is what the statement says. The added material says: “Instead, the announcements are a reminder for Americans to love their country and know why it’s worth defending – at home, at the border, and abroad.”
A web page makes the case for keeping the ads, while the White House has labeled them “public service announcements,”.
Who Is Watching
The Guardian contacted the FCC and FTC for comment.
What Happens Next
The two agencies are being asked to decide whether to allow these ads to go on as before, or to come up with grounds for stepping in. The law makes plain what public money cannot be spent on, and the candidate has already left office.
The test here measures how far the government can reach into the airwaves when it chooses to speak.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs the small broadcasters who will pay the price of this regulation and is against the FCC and FTC being drawn into service as a political tool for one party’s midterm campaign. When an agency expands its reach to stop a single man’s ads, the small operator pays the bill, and the big broadcaster walks away whole.
That is the shape of this fight, and the paper’s position is clear: regulate narrowly where a business directly harms people or the environment, and resist the expansion of power that leaves the small player worse off. The White House has called the ads public service announcements, but the law says otherwise, and the law belongs to the small operator as much as to the president.
The FCC and FTC must answer Public Citizen’s request, and the paper will watch how they respond. The law is settled, and the candidate has already left office; the question now is whether the agencies will act on it or let the ads continue. The paper will track this story through the coming weeks, watching for any sign that the agencies are acting as servants rather than guardians of the airwaves.
Source material: “Trump campaign ads paid with public money violate federal law, critics say,” The Guardian.
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