Since Wednesday, the federal government has been airing a taxpayer-funded political advertisement on channels like Fox News promoting the virtues of President Donald Trump, as Republicans ramp up advertising in the lead-up to November’s midterm elections.
The ad, soundtracked with the chorus of the singer JMSN’s “Love Me,” is structured like a TikTok hype reel for Trump and against communism. It’s captioned “Paid for by the US Government.”
“The ad’s cost has jumped from $14,000 to $430,000 as it runs on a variety of network TV channels in markets across the country, according to AdImpact, which tracks media spending,” the Associated Press reported Friday. “The actual amount spent could be significantly more, depending on whether networks classified the ad as a political ad.”
The White House characterizes the ad as a “public service announcement” that reminds Americans “to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad.”
“The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic. We should be proud of our country,” a White House spokesperson wrote in a statement to news organizations.
JMSN, the singer whose “love me, love me, love me” chorus backgrounds the ad, has condemned the White House’s use of his song. A growing number of politicians, both Republicans and Democrats, have written strongly-worded letters objecting to the advertisement as a misuse of public funds.
To be fair to Trump, this isn’t the first time a president has run a public service announcement: Former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter got together in 2021 to tape a PSA asking people to get COVID vaccines. Under George H.W. Bush, national TV networks ran presidentially-approved PSAs featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger telling children to work out more. And in 2014, the Obama White House ran a PSA on 20,000 television stations in which a bunch of male celebrities, Joe Biden, and Barack Obama all exhorted American men to put an end to sexual assault.
Unlike its predecessors, Trump’s supposed PSA says and does very little beyond extolling Trump. Usually, a public service announcement announces something. This one announces pure right-wing vibes.
Mother Jones is a nonprofit American progressive magazine that focuses on news, commentary, and investigative journalism on topics including politics, environment, human rights, health, healthcare and culture. Clara Jeffery serves as editor-in-chief of the magazine. Monika Bauerlein has been the CEO since 2015.
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