The firm tied to Donald Trump’s controversial ad blitz had an earlier government deal torpedoed over its LGBTQ-friendly stance.
Trump, 80, has been under fire for using taxpayers’ money to produce a series of bizarre self-promoting TV commercials ahead of the November midterms, with critics branding them “propaganda” that could violate federal law.
The Department of Homeland Security handed a $20 million contract to marketing firm LMD Agency for a “national media campaign” earlier this month, according to ABC News. The White House had given the same amount in federal money to DHS just one day earlier.
But DHS had already shunned a deal with LMD after former Secretary Kristi Noem objected to its pro-transgender and DEI-friendly views, according to PunchUp, the Daily Beast’s sister Substack.
A department spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation months earlier how LMD’s website was “riddled with blogs lecturing on how to successfully market to a transgender audience and how not to ‘rainbow wash’ in marketing campaigns,” along with material promoting diversity and inclusion.
The decision came in February, after Customs and Border Protection, a DHS agency, extended a $58 million advertising contract with the group, whose website says it provides “a full suite of communications services” to government bodies and private companies.
The White House Office of Budget and Management later transferred $20 million for Trump’s new commercials to CBP on Sept. 19, according to the Associated Press. The agency awarded LMD a new $20 million deal on Sept. 20, with the first ad airing the following week.
Trump’s PR campaign, which comes amid his plummeting ratings helping Democrats gain a 7-point lead ahead of the November poll, consists of three commercials that all end with the same kicker: “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
The first ad boasts about his record in office with R&B singer JMSN’s 2023 hit Love Me playing in the background. JMSN has slammed the commercial and issued a cease-and-desist. Another shows shots of Mount Rushmore as the president declares a new “golden age,” while a third features him walking down a hall as campaign audio pledges a “final battle” with his political enemies.
The commercials, which have aired during NFL and college football games, have drawn furious backlash from voters and even senior Republicans. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that he “likes the message” but that “it shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer dollars.”
Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy has said “I don’t think any public official, including President Trump… should spend public money on private ads for themselves,” while North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis branded it “inappropriate” and something voters might expect from foreign authoritarian leaders.
George W. Bush’s former White House ethics attorney, Richard Painter, labeled Trump’s use of government funds for the ads as beyond the pale. “This could be an impeachable offense,” he wrote on X on Sunday, noting that Trump “has no right to use taxpayer money for campaign ads.”
He added: “Congress has expressly prohibited government-sponsored political propaganda, which is dangerous for democracy.”
The Daily Beast has contacted DHS, the White House, and LMD Agency for comment.
Tom Latchem exposes the secrets, scandals, and stories that powerful people and institutions want to keep under wraps. Follow all of his reporting at PunchUp on Substack.
