The White House is melting down over people calling out its taxpayer-funded advertisement telling Americans to “love” President Donald Trump.
An ad airing on right-wing networks and CBS shows the president ranting about defeating communism, socialism, and Marxism before R&B artist JMSN’s song “Love Me” plays over a series of images of Trump, along with audio of UFC head Dana White praising him.
The ad has been slammed as blatant government propaganda, but the White House is bizarrely standing by it, claiming it is merely a Public Service Announcement—something they maintain is perfectly normal.
“The attacks on President Donald J. Trump’s public service announcements are highly dishonest,” the White House said. The announcements are very clearly not campaign ads; President Trump is not on the ballot, and there is no call to action.”
It continues, “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. That’s not partisanship—that’s a government that still believes in the country it serves.”
The White House claims presidents of both parties have used PSAs to “explain policy and make the case for the nation’s direction.”
The statement cites supposed examples from the administrations of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, George H. W. Bush, and even Franklin D. Roosevelt. However, those ads made specific announcements, like Biden’s push for Americans to get vaccinated and Bush explaining a newly passed piece of legislation to seniors—not a highlight reel of the president’s perceived wins.
MAGA’s version of a “public service announcement,” which it shamelessly tagged as being paid for by the U.S. government, includes a portion of White’s speech where he heaped praise on Trump at the 2024 RNC. In the clip, the UFC boss describes Trump as the “toughest, most resilient person that I’ve ever met, and nothing is gonna stop him from fighting so hard for the country he loves.”
It is legal for the government to pay for advertising, but only for matters such as public health campaigns or military recruitment—and those ads must remain non-partisan. As he often does, Trump appears to have skirted the law with his 30-second spot, which conveniently debuted less than two months before the midterm elections. While Trump is not on the ballot, he has explicitly told voters to vote as if he is.
Democrats immediately attacked the ad.
Sara McGee, a Democrat running for Texas, called the clip “fascist propaganda.”
New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, a senior member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and demanded answers.
“The advertisement does not have a clear official government purpose and appears to run afoul of federal prohibitions against the use of appropriated funds as part of ‘a general propaganda effort designed to aid a political party or candidates,’” she said.
Hassan continued, “This taxpayer-funded political advertisement serves as yet another troubling example of President Trump’s growing list of expensive vanity projects—including the White House ballroom—that are estimated to cost over $1.8 billion, money that could have instead be spent lowering costs for Americans.”
