CNN host Abby Phillip appeared stunned as a MAGA-aligned Republican strategist defended the Trump administration’s bizarre taxpayer-funded “Love Me” ad and urged the president to make 20 more.
Conservative strategist Tim Parrish clashed with Phillip on Thursday’s edition of CNN NewsNight over the controversial 30-second video promoting President Donald Trump, which carried the disclaimer that it was “paid for by the U.S. government.”
“I hope that the President puts 20 more of these out,” Parrish, a military veteran, said. He cited a Gallup poll that suggests that Americans are becoming increasingly sympathetic to communism and Marxism, “and on these things by the vehicle of the Democrat Socialist Party that is taking an uprising in the United States of America.”
The ad, which began airing Wednesday, features a montage of Trump set to R&B singer JMSN’s “Love Me.” It touts claims including “Largest tax cuts in history,” “Reigniting American manufacturing,” and “Defend law and order and police.”
The U.S. “will never be a communist country,” Trump says in the ad.
It ends with audio from UFC CEO Dana White’s praising Trump as the “toughest, most resilient person that I’ve ever met.”
The ad debuts less than two months before the November 3 midterm elections.
Phillip repeatedly pressed Parrish on whether taxpayers should be footing the bill.
“Do you really think taxpayers ought to be paying for this when the president has an $800 million war chest that he could spend?” she asked.
When Parrish responded that Phillip was characterizing Trump as having done something illegal, the host shot back: “You’re not answering my question.”
“Should taxpayers pay for it, Tim?” she asked again.
Parrish argued that previous administrations had also produced taxpayer-funded public service announcements, pointing to Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Phillip countered with examples provided by the White House itself, including George W. Bush promoting Medicare, Obama discussing EPA rules and Biden promoting COVID vaccines.
“Abby, the underlying tone of all those things you listed were political in nature,” Parrish said. “Every single person knows that they were using those to tout wins for the President right before midterms. The same thing that President Trump is doing.”
Phillip then zeroed in on what government policy Trump’s “Love Me” spot was actually promoting.
“What is the policy here for Trump?” she asked. “Is it a bill? Is it a regulation? What is it?”
“It’s a cancer that has taken over the Democratic Party,” Parrish replied.
“It’s a political position,” Phillip said.
Parrish has publicly aligned himself with Trump’s political movement. June 20 X post, he declared “TDS [Trump Derangement Syndrome] is real” while defending Trump’s war with Iran and added: “Stay mad while the rest of keep on winning!”
On September 15, Parrish also wrote that “‘America First’ isn’t just a political statement,” describing it as “an existential expression” that conveys that U.S. defense resources should primarily be used against threats to Americans.
The ad has drawn scrutiny over its government funding. Democratic lawmakers have accused the administration of violating federal restrictions on taxpayer-funded propaganda.
The White House has defended the ad, saying it is part of “public service announcements” to promote national pride.
“The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic,” a White House spokesperson said. “We should be proud of our country.”
Singer JMSN, whose real name is Christian Berishaj, said he didn’t authorize the use of “Love Me” and was “looking at lawyers and handling this internally.”
