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Welcome to logout: Donald Trump spends taxpayer dollars on propaganda ads.
What happened? Over the weekend, the Trump administration aired a 30-second ad in which Trump pledged to “destroy the deep state, kick the warmongers out of our government” and “drive out communists, Marxists and fascists,” paired with black-and-white footage of the president walking down a hallway.
In the last 10 seconds of the ad, a line of white text appeared on the screen: “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
What’s the background? It’s the third Trump-centric ad to air with that text in the past week, and it’s the most eye-catching so far: It saturday night live, fox news sundayAccording to the New York Times, there are also multiple college and professional football games over the weekend.
Two other ads also promote Trump, including one that includes clips of a speech he gave this summer and another that flashes a photo of Trump while the song “Love Me” plays in the background, declaring that “America will never become a communist country.” All are likely illegal, according to several ethics experts interviewed by The New York Times.
How much did Trump spend? It’s a moving target, but there are hundreds of thousands. The Associated Press reported on Monday that the third most recent ad cost at least $319,000, and as of Friday, the “Love Me” ad had cost taxpayers at least $443,000.
How did the government respond? The White House defended the ads as “public service announcements” and noted that Trump is not currently voting.
However, the black-and-white ad is an almost 1:1 replica of the 2024 Trump campaign ad, while other ads are equally Trump-focused with less content.
Contrary to the administration’s line, Trump also asked voters in the months leading up to the midterm elections to “pretend I’m on the ballot” — including now using his own money to put himself in power.
That’s it, time to log off…
Now, for a change of pace before we log out: Easy My favorite The story of the weekend comes from the Cycling World Championships in Montreal, where Brandon McNulty became the first American to win in 33 years in stunning style (here’s the gift link).
As always, thank you for reading, have a great night, and see you tomorrow!