Donald Trump’s government funded television ads are under fire from public interest advocates who are demanding federal officials immediately pull them from the air.
The ads exclusively feature Trump as a dynamic, hard-charging leader, at a time when he publicly falls asleep in staff meetings in front of television cameras. The spots have been deemed government “propaganda,” which is illegal under U.S. law.
Advocacy group Public Citizen announced today it had filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission ( FTC) seeking to have broadcasters immediately ban the ads.
Public Citizen filed a second complaint with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) asserting the ads violate laws prohibiting spending government resources for propaganda.
The group said the ads also violate the Hatch Act, and other related laws.
Taxpayers are now footing three separate campaign ads by Trump, airing on TV networks across the nation. The latest taxpayer-funded campaign ad dominated the airwaves of football games over last weekend, the group said.
Entitled “Final Battle,” the ad doesn’t even mention a pending government action. It simply tries to stir up hysteria among voters and depicts Trump as a great hero working to save the nation from grave threats,” according to Craig Holman, a Public Citizen government ethics expert in a statement.
In black-and-white scenes reminiscent of an early George Orwell film, Trump marches down a corridor with a stern look. The audio blares: “This is the final battle. With you at my side, we will demolish the deep state. We will expel the warmongers from our government.”
The three spots cost at least $2.5 million to put on the air, according to an ad tracking company.
In an election year when political ads dominate the air waves, the Trump ads stand out because they include the notice: “Paid for by the U.S. government.”
“That the Trump administration not only failed to acknowledge and investigate last week’s illegal ad, but instead doubled down and released a second piece of taxpayer funded political propaganda during the mass-viewing moment of Sunday football is appalling and alarming,” said Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert.
“These illegal ads should immediately be pulled from the air, and the White House’s many apparent violations of the law should be investigated.”
But chances of that happening appear slim.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr, a Trump sycophant, said the taxpayer-funded spots do not raise regulatory red flags or merit an agency review. He calld them”standard public service announcements.”
Carr’s comment is odd since he’s taken a hardline against media outlets for what he says is political bias in cable news broadcasts by networks like MSNOW, CNN and mainstream television networks like CBS and ABC.
Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez criticized the ads, stating they represent an effort to influence the midterm elections.
“This administration’s repeated and flagrant violations of the law, including the Hatch Act, are an affront to taxpayers and our democracy,” said Holman.
“The FCC and other oversight agencies are charged with ensuring this type of abuse of taxpayer funds does not happen. But that system only works if they take action.”
The ads should be produced and aired using campaign funds, the group said.
The letter to broadcasters notes that they should refrain from airing advertisements that they know are otherwise illegal under the law, and that broadcasters must maintain a public file on any political ads they air. Failing to uphold this duty can result in broadcast license revocation.
The FCC/FTC complaint is available to read here, and the second OSC and GAO complaint can be found here.
Check out one of the ads below:
Keith Girard has four decades of experience as an award-winning reporter, editor-in-chief, and senior media executive. Keith’s career began in Washington, D.C., where he was a reporter for The Washington Post and a contributing editor for Regardie’s and Washingtonian magazines. He also worked as a writer/producer in CNN’s Washington Bureau and has written non-fiction books on the U.S. Marines in the Gulf War and Donald Trump and two novels, “The Heidelberg Conundrum” and “The Curse of Northam Bay.”