A 30-second Donald Trump ad took an unexpected turn at the very end. A disclaimer showed a message identifying the U.S. government as its payer. The spot aired during Jesse Watters Primetime on Fox News and wrapped Trump-focused imagery and political messaging around a repeated “love me” refrain.
Donald Trump’s ad on Fox News comes with a disclaimer
JMSN’s song “Love Me” provides the soundtrack as flags and images of Donald Trump fill the screen. The president talks about fighting communism, while the ad also highlights tax cuts and support for “law and order” policing. The video then brings in Dana White, whose 2024 Republican National Convention speech praised Trump as the “toughest, most resilient person” he had met (via The Daily Beast).
The unusual part arrives in the closing seconds: “Paid for by the U.S. government.” The disclaimer raised questions because the commercial closely resembles partisan political messaging. Government advertising can cover areas such as public health or military recruitment but should be nonpartisan.
Criticism quickly followed on X. MeidasTouch called it “weird fascist propaganda,” while Democratic commentator Isaiah Martin argued that taxpayers were funding the message. Sara McGee, a Democratic Texas House candidate, went further, calling the spot “fascist propaganda, period” and accusing government officials of betraying the US. “I don’t know what the hell is going through the minds of the members of our other two branches of government, but they are actively betraying our country,” she wrote.
The ad also arrived as Trump’s White House pushed another highly Trump-centered media project. Earlier this week, the administration launched a 24/7 stream called “Trump TV” through the White House YouTube channel. The stream features speeches and other highlights from the administration, but only a few hundred viewers are tuning in.
That audience number led to an oddly hilarious comparison. The Daily Beast reported that a black screen playing audio from a Lasko box fan on speed 3 pulled more viewers than the Trump stream.
