AS AMERICANS STRUGGLE TO PAY for gas, groceries, and other necessities, Donald Trump has found a new use for their tax dollars: promoting himself and his party in the midterms.
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Trump → struggle → midterms
In the last week, the Trump administration has spent more than $1.7 million in federal funds to run three ads on TV, including on Fox News during primetime, on a Sunday-morning political show, and on NFL games.
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administration → spend → games
The White House calls these videos “public service announcements.”
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House → call → videos
In reality, they’re obvious campaign ads.
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they → ’re → reality
And Trump, through taxation and unauthorized spending, is forcing Americans to pay for them.
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Trump → force → them
All of the ads glorify Trump.
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All → glorify → Trump
The first one depicts him in silhouette, in grainy black-and-white, and in statuesque illumination.
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one → depict → illumination
The images echo those of fascist regimes in the early twentieth century.
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images → echo → century
The second ad shows him on two giant screens, with military officers gazing up at him, as he spoke at Mount Rushmore in July.
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he → show → July
The scene looks like a North Korean pageant.
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scene → look → pageant
The third ad follows him as he strides down a hallway in slow motion, staring into the camera with a strongman’s glare.
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he → follow → glare
All three commercials feature phrases from Trump’s 2024 campaign or from his 2026 rallies for Republican candidates.
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commercials → feature → candidates
In the first ad, he declares, “Together we will defeat communism, socialism, and Marxism in America.”
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we → declare → America
In the second, he brags about presiding over “the golden age of America.”
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he → brag → America
In the third, he vows to “drive out the globalists,” “rout the fake news media,” and “throw off the sick political class that hates our country.”
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that → vow → country
If you plug these lines into an internet search engine, you’ll find them in numerous Trump campaign rallies from 2024 and 2026.
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you → plug → 2024
It duplicates, word-for-word and image-for-image, a commercial that Trump’s campaign aired two years ago.
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campaign → duplicate → that
The only difference is that Trump’s campaign logo has been clipped from the end and replaced by the words, “Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
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logo → clip → Government
Like propaganda in other authoritarian countries, Trump’s videos defy reality.
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videos → defy → reality
The first one shows him standing in front of the words “PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST.”
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him → show → EAST
That picture was taken last October, four months before he launched the current war in Iran.
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he → take → Iran
The third ad replays his promise, delivered throughout 2024, that he would “expel the warmongers from our government.”
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he → replay → government
Two years later, that promise has been exposed as a lie.
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promise → expose → lie
But he’s repeating it anyway.
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he → repeat → it
It’s one thing to spread such lies on your own dime.
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It → ’ → dime
It’s quite another to use public money.
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It → ’ → money
Federal law explicitly prohibits the use of U.S. funds “for publicity or propaganda purposes not authorized by the Congress.”
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law → prohibit → Congress
Democrats point out that Trump’s ads might also violate 18 U.S.C. § 641, which forbids the conversion of federal assets to personal use.
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which → point → use
Then there’s the Hatch Act, which precludes federal employees from engaging in campaign activities while on the job.
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which → ’ → job
Nobody gets through a moment like this by tuning everything out.
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Nobody → get → everything
And nobody should have to get through it alone.
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nobody → have → it
Learn something you didn’t know yesterday.
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you → learn → something
Meet some people who care about the same things you do.
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you → meet → things
And help us defend a democracy worth staying tuned in for.
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us → help → democracy
Join the side you’re already on.
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you → join → side
IN DEFENSE OF ITS ADS, the White House has posted a statement denying that they’re campaign commercials.
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they → post → statement
To begin with, says the statement, videos that promote Trump can’t be accused of meddling in the midterms, because “President Trump is not on the ballot.”
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Trump → begin → ballot
That’s a comical excuse.
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That → ’ → ?
In at least four speeches and interviews during the last six weeks, Trump has explicitly urged his supporters to “pretend I’m on the ballot.”
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I → urge → ballot
Second, the White House statement says the ad campaign just “promotes pride in our country” and serves as “a reminder for Americans to love their country.”
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Americans → say → country
…and 32 more, not listed.
The Aporia
