Donald Trump is facing increasing backlash from inside his own party as his taxpayer-funded ad campaign sparks a full-blown Republican revolt.
With a GOP midterms disaster looming, the White House has rolled out three separate ads touting the president at taxpayer expense, despite a federal ban on spending public money for political promotion.
More than $1.7 million in taxpayer money has gone toward airing the pro-Trump spots, ABC News reports, not including the cost of producing the ads.
The White House has insisted they are not advertisements, but rather “Presidential public service announcements,” even though the latest ad to hit the airwaves is identical to one that aired during his 2024 campaign, except that it now comes with the disclaimer “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
What began as Republican grumbling has now turned into a broader backlash, with the Senate’s highest-ranking Republican joining in.
“I like the message, but it shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer dollars,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on Monday.
Sen. Mike Rounds, another South Dakota Republican and close Trump ally, said, “It would not have been something that I would have done. And I know that the White House is not covered by the same guidance that we are, but it’s not something that I would have done.”
Meanwhile, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy blasted the use of public money to promote politicians on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday.
“I don’t think any public official, including President Trump or Kristi Noem or John Kennedy, should spend public money on private ads for themselves,” Kennedy told host Margaret Brennan. “Now, the White House sees it differently. But I think there ought to be a rule that you can’t—well there probably is a rule—that you can’t spend public money to promote yourself.”
Federal law prohibits the use of federal funds for “publicity or propaganda purposes,” including communications that are “purely partisan” and “designed to aid a political party or candidates.”
While governments can fund advertising, it must be used to promote issues such as public health awareness or military recruitment, and the advertising must remain non-partisan.
Some of Trump’s GOP foes have been even more blunt in their criticism of the ads, which glorify the president and tout his policies. One is soundtracked by a chorus singing “I’ll make them love me” over and over.
Asked whether the ads were appropriate, Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who lost in the GOP primary against Trump-endorsed Ken Paxton, replied, “No. It’s not even a close question.”
Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, who lost his primary against a Trump-endorsed challenger, posted on X, “Don’t worry, using taxpayer dollars to run ominous campaign ads of the President has been done before and is completely legal… in banana republics.”
He later commented on the video: “So much for DOGE. This is the kind of waste, fraud, and abuse they were originally supposed to go after.”
Retiring GOP Senator Thom Tillis, who Trump has spent years attacking and labeled as a “loser” and a “quitter.” said, according to NBC News, “I hate it. I tell you, it feels like Viktor Orbán talking to the Hungarian people. There’s no place for that sort of thing. Look, you want to run that ad? We got plenty of resources. The ads didn’t cost that much.
“But when I saw that image come up during the NFL game yesterday — overall I was disappointed because the Browns beat the Panthers. I was more disappointed with that ad, because it made no sense to me. If it were, you know, some clear message that was going to appeal to the broader, a real public service announcement, that’s fine. But that was not that.”
Richard Painter, a former White House ethics czar under President George W. Bush, told the Associated Press, “You watch all three ads, they’re sheer propaganda.”
“This is increasingly looking like what authoritarian governments do to promote their leaders,” he added.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
