“Trump defends self-promoting taxpayer-funded ads”, 30 September 2026 (Photo via Washington Examiner — the original report)
As it ran on the front
The norm against spending the public's money to promote the man spending it did not go quietly, and it did not go unanswered. It went on September 25, when the White House answered complaints about a pro-Trump ad campaign timed to the midterms with a line built for a plaque: "Patriotism isn't partisan." The ads, repurposed from the 2024 campaign, carried a disclaimer at the bottom reading "Paid for by the U.S. Government."
Two days later, on a Sunday, Richard Painter, who once served as the White House's own ethics lawyer, wrote that the ads could be "an impeachable offense" and that the president "has no right to use taxpayer money for campaign ads." The next day, a Monday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, joined the criticism against what the administration was calling a public-service campaign. He did not need Painter's word for it. He needed only to read the invoice.…
…(cont) By September 30, the defense had not moved an inch. Trump told reporters he is "not running for office," so the ads are not his to be accused of running on. "That's an ad for the spirit of our country," he said. The spirit of the country, in this telling, airs on a loop with his voice on it and the taxpayer's signature at the bottom.
This is not a new argument so much as old hogwash dressed for a different anniversary. The office of the presidency has always had access to the government's megaphone; what died this week was the agreement that the megaphone stops short of the ballot box. A government announcement that reuses a campaign reel and swaps only the disclaimer is not public service.
The norm leaves no immediate survivors in the executive branch, which has shown no sign of mourning. It is survived by Thune, who broke with his own White House over the ad campaign, and by Painter, who used the word impeachable out loud and on the record. It is preceded in death by every assurance that a disclaimer settles the question of who the ad is for.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that the public be told, before the next invoice comes due, what in this country still isn't partisan.
🍺
“Patriotism used to mean the flag. Now it's the brand name they put on the invoice so you can't call it what it is: a campaign commercial, running on your dime, for a man who isn't even up for reelection but sure wants you thinking about him in November. The scary part isn't the ad. It's that the only guy who said stop was the Senate Majority Leader, and even he didn't say it loud enough to pull the funding.”
“Look, it's a public service announcement, it's about the spirit of the country, nothing partisan about loving your country — did I say that? That's literally what they titled the ad campaign, I'm not spinning anything, that's the actual disclaimer. The President isn't on the ballot, so legally this is just civics, patriotic civics, timed completely coincidentally to the midterms. Thune's just being cautious, that's all, nobody's calling anybody impeachable around here. Okay, somebody is. Not me though.”
After Trump promised taxpayers would not pay 'one dime' for the ballroom, Republicans proposed $1 billion in taxpayer funds for it. Congress rejected the ask NBC News, May 2026
President Donald Trump defended the legality of the controversial advertisements promoting himself by saying that he is not on the ballot in November, as critics claims they are political in nature and could violate federal law. “Well, I’m not running for office,” Trump said in his first comments addressing the ads.
The White House defended the Trump administration's use of taxpayer dollars for a series of TV ads promoting President Trump in the run-up to the midterm elections. Nancy Cordes reports.
After Trump promised taxpayers would not pay 'one dime' for the ballroom, Republicans proposed $1 billion in taxpayer funds for it. Congress rejected the ask. NBC News, May 2026
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) joined growing criticism Monday against a taxpayer-funded “PSA” campaign from the Trump administration that includes repurposed campaign materials from the 2024 presidential election. The latest ad, which includes an on-screen disclaimer that it’s “Paid for by the U.S.
President Trump defended his government-funded ad campaigns, arguing Wednesday that he is not promoting a particular candidate. “I’m not running for office, first of all,” Trump told reporters.
After Trump promised taxpayers would not pay 'one dime' for the ballroom, Republicans proposed $1 billion in taxpayer funds for it. Congress rejected the ask NBC News, May 2026
Former White House ethics attorney Richard Painter said the White House using taxpayer dollars for TV ads promoting President Trump could be “an impeachable offense.” “As I told @baylisswagner of the @nytimes here, this could be an impeachable offense. @POTUS has no right to use taxpayer money for campaign ads,”
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.
