Taxpayer-funded Trump TV ad draws criticism from Democrats and Republicans

The US government paid for a television advertisement featuring US President Donald Trump that echoes Republican messaging ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, the Associated Press reported.

The 30-second advertisement features images of Trump and says “America will never be a communist country” while promoting the “largest tax cuts in history.”

A disclaimer near the end says it was “paid for by the U.S. government.”

AdImpact, which tracks advertising spending, said the spot cost $14,000 and aired during programmes on Fox News and Newsmax.

It remains unclear which part of the federal government paid for it.

The advertisement does not explicitly tell Americans how to vote, but its language closely reflects messaging used by Trump and other Republicans ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin claimed government employees working on the advertisement would violate the Hatch Act.

“It is blatantly unethical under numerous federal ethics provisions proscribing the use of government resources for political campaigns,” Raskin wrote.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis also criticised the use of public money.

“It’s inappropriate. It’s not like they need a GoFundMe page to have the dollars to do that sort of ad and they could do it. But using taxpayer dollars, it feels like Viktor Orban,” Tillis said.