Even some Republicans aren’t on board with Trump’s taxpayer-financed election propaganda

Federal law prohibits spending public money on “propaganda purposes,” yet the White House has aired three campaign-style television ads paid for entirely by taxpayers. Their cost is approaching at least $1.5 million. With the midterm election five weeks away, the spending is drawing objections from Republicans as well as Democrats, according to MS NOW.

The most brazen entry reruns footage from a 2024 Trump campaign commercial, with a closing tag crediting the federal government as payer. Communications director Steven Cheung answered critics on social media by describing the spots as public service announcements and accusing the “Fake News” of lying. Ethics lawyers have called the conduct an “impeachable offense,” and congressional Democrats have used the phrase “felony criminal theft.”

Several GOP senators declined to defend it. Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said Sunday that elected officials have no business bankrolling their own private promotion with government money. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he likes the message but taxpayers should not foot the bill. Texas Sen. John Cornyn said the propriety of it was “not even a close question.” North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said “I hate it,” likening it to Viktor Orbán addressing Hungarians. MS NOW’s Steve Benen asks what comes next: whether Congress will try to make the White House repay the public, whether prosecutors will examine the evidence, and whether a Democratic majority next year would hold hearings.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →