Trump government-funded TV ads cost at least $2.5 million, ad-tracking firm says

Television advertisements featuring President Donald Trump and paid for by the US government have cost at least $2.5 million in airtime so far, the ad-tracking firm AdImpact told CNN, out of $20 million allocated for the campaign.

Watchdog group Public Citizen filed complaints on Tuesday with the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, arguing the ads “appear to violate the federal law against using taxpayer funds to finance propaganda and related provisions of the appropriations laws as well as the Hatch Act.”

The money came from Customs and Border Protection, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The White House Office of Management and Budget, led by Russell Vought, allocated $20 million to the agency earlier this month for what it called “OBBBA commemorative events,” a reference to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law in 2025. CBP then contracted advertising company LMD Agency Inc. for a national media campaign for the same amount, and the ads began airing days later, sources told CNN. The Wall Street Journal first reported the funding source. LMD’s parent company, MarCom Group, did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

AdImpact found 2,766 airings of the ads between September 23 and 29 on Fox News and the four major broadcast networks, with about 30% of spending going to NFL and college football games. Because the spots were classified as a public service announcement rather than a political ad buy, exact spending is not publicly disclosed. Democratic senators cited an AdImpact estimate of more than $1.7 million spent as of earlier this week; CNN said the true cost is higher than $2.5 million but cannot be fully ascertained.

The three ads were created in-house by the White House video team and personally driven by the president, who was involved in selecting imagery, Trump advisers and another source told CNN. One ad, “The Final Battle,” uses the same video and audio as a Trump 2024 campaign ad; the earlier version was paid for by his campaign committee, while the new version carries the on-screen text “Paid for by the US government.”

The White House said the ads are public service announcements “about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad.” Public Citizen rejected that classification, saying the spots “do not refer to any specific governmental program” and are “designed to boost the image and character of Donald Trump right before the 2026 midterm elections.”

Reaction

Democratic senators Patty Murray and Chris Murphy wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Tuesday accusing the department of “a shockingly corrupt misuse of taxpayer dollars” and saying Trump was “illegally using Americans’ tax dollars to fund government propaganda.”

Some Republicans also objected. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that although he liked the ads’ message, “it shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer dollars.” Senator John Kennedy told CBS: “You can’t spend public money to promote yourself.” Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, have not acted.

Public Citizen also filed complaints with the Government Accountability Office and the US Office of Special Counsel, calling for an investigation “into who produced these ads and at what cost to taxpayers.” It wrote that the rule protecting candidate advertising does not apply because Trump is not a candidate for office, and warned stations could face license renewal challenges for “knowingly broadcasting illegal, taxpayer-funded partisan propaganda.”

The GAO declined to comment on the complaint, saying its work is done at the request of congressional committees or as required by public laws, according to Ars Technica. The FCC has not commented; history suggests it will not act, as the agency has instead challenged broadcast licenses held by ABC owner Disney, whose programming has been critical of the president. Representative Jamie Raskin said the ads “may be felony criminal theft and conversion of government property for political campaign purposes.”