Trump’s taxpayer-funded ads, and his long list of brazen acts

When the Trump administration began running taxpayer-funded “public service announcements” that looked suspiciously like campaign ads for President Donald Trump last week, the White House gamely maintained they were “very clearly not campaign ads.” Then it gave up all pretense. As of Sunday, the administration was running a new ad that was basically an actual campaign ad, repurposed from Trump’s 2024 bid. It effectively just slapped on a “Paid for by the U.S. Government” disclaimer and called it a day. Even some Republicans aren’t bothering to try to spin for the White House on this one. “You can’t spend public money to promote yourself,” Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” Indeed, there’s really no convincing defense for this. The purpose of the ads is clear. The White House’s comparisons to past public service announcements on issues like Covid-19 are ridiculous.