‘Love Me’: White House airs government-funded ad praising Trump
By Patrick Svitek, CNN
(CNN) — With the midterm elections approaching, the White House is airing a new TV ad promoting President Donald Trump and his policies that says it is “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
The unusual 30-second commercial shows rapidly edited pictures and video of Trump over audio of him denouncing communism and socialism, with text on the screen that touts his administration’s accomplishments, such as “reigniting American manufacturing.” The spot is set to the song “Love Me” by JMSN.
The ad ends with a clip of UFC President Dana White praising Trump as the “toughest, most resilient person that I’ve ever met.”
The commercial started airing Wednesday across the country on cable TV, including Fox News, as well as connected TV, according to AdImpact. The ad-tracking service said the government has spent just over $14,000 to run the ad so far.
That is a small amount of money compared to the tens of millions of dollars that are flooding the airwaves in the final weeks of the midterms, and the ad doesn’t mention any races or candidates. But it marks an atypical use of taxpayer dollars at a time when Trump has sought to make himself front and center in the elections, even though he is not on the ballot.
The White House declined to elaborate on how the ad is being funded but defended it as part of “public service announcements” to promote national pride.
“The ad is educational and unapologetically patriotic,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement. “We should be proud of our country.”
JMSN, the singer-songwriter whose song is the soundtrack of the ad, suggested on X that the administration used “Love Me” without his permission.
“I am looking at lawyers and handling this internally,” JMSN wrote.
The government-funded ads come as Trump’s political operation has started unloading its massive war chest in the midterms. MAGA Inc., the main pro-Trump super PAC, entered September with $416 million cash on hand, according to a recent campaign finance filing.
The-CNN-Wire
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