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PoliticsQuiet 11d · day 18

NYT: Trump Personally Directed Taxpayer Money for Pro-Trump TV Ads

New reporting shows Trump told OMB director Russell Vought to fund ads praising his presidency, as spending approaches $5.5 million ahead of the midterms.

newest coverage 11d agosummary written 11d ago44 pieces486 likes & upvotes56 comments NewswiresMastodonGoogle NewsRedditYouTubeBluesky

Part of a larger narrative

Trump Taxpayer-Funded Campaign Ads

7 stories · since Sep 23 · newest 3h ago — The Trump administration's use of federal funds to pay for television advertisements promoting the president has drawn bipartisan criticism and scrutiny.

  1. DHS Kept Airing Pro-Trump Ads After Judge's Ban, DOJ Then Claims Compliance
  2. Disney, ABC sue Trump's FCC over free speech protections
  3. Trump rolls out $90 Medicare checks to 20 million seniors ahead of midterms
  4. NYT: Trump Personally Directed Taxpayer Money for Pro-Trump TV Adsyou are here
  5. Trump cancels $810M in congressionally approved spending via rare 'pocket rescission'
All 7 stories in this narrative →

What to know

  • A $20 million CBP allocation labeled 'OBBBA commemorative events' funded TV ads praising Trump, with $2.5-$5.5 million already spent across multiple spots.
  • Watchdog group Public Citizen and Democratic senators Murray and Murphy call the ads illegal propaganda and a Hatch Act violation; Republicans control Congress but have not acted.
  • NYT reporting says Trump personally directed OMB Director Russell Vought to fund the ads, undercutting the White House's claim they are nonpartisan public service announcements.
  • The 'Paid for by the US Government' disclosure on the ads conflicts with the administration's PSA characterization, and musician JMSN sent a cease-and-desist over unauthorized song use.

Donald TrumpDonald Trump President of the United StatesRussell Vought Director, White House Office of Management and BudgetNatalie Harp White House aide named in NYT reportingPatty MurrayPatty Murray Democratic U.S. SenatorChris MurphyChris Murphy Democratic U.S. SenatorPublic Citizen Government watchdog group

NYT: Trump Personally Directed Taxpayer Money for Pro-Trump TV Ads
cnn.com

How it unfolded 5 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesvideosposts

Peak 18 pieces in 4h at Oct 2, 2 PM; 44 pieces over 18 days (23 articles · 2 videos · 18 posts · 1 comment) Sep 25, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Sep 25, 10 PM — quietSep 26, 2 AM — quietSep 26, 6 AM — quietSep 26, 10 AM — quietSep 26, 2 PM — quietSep 26, 6 PM — quietSep 26, 10 PM — quietSep 27, 2 AM — quietSep 27, 6 AM — quietSep 27, 10 AM — quietSep 27, 2 PM — quietSep 27, 6 PM — quietSep 27, 10 PM — quietSep 28, 2 AM — quietSep 28, 6 AM — quietSep 28, 10 AM — quietSep 28, 2 PM — quietSep 28, 6 PM — quietSep 28, 10 PM — quietSep 29, 2 AM — quietSep 29, 6 AM — quietSep 29, 10 AM — quietSep 29, 2 PM — quietSep 29, 6 PM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 post — Google News 1, Mastodon 1Sep 29, 10 PM — quietSep 30, 2 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Reddit 1Sep 30, 6 AM — quietSep 30, 10 AM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Newswires 2Sep 30, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 video — YouTube 1Sep 30, 6 PM — 4 pieces · 2 articles · 2 posts — Mastodon 2, Newswires 2Sep 30, 10 PM — quietOct 1, 2 AM — quietOct 1, 6 AM — 3 pieces · 3 articles — Newswires 2, Mastodon 1Oct 1, 10 AM — 3 pieces · 2 articles · 1 video — Newswires 1, YouTube 1, Google News 1Oct 1, 2 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 1, 6 PM — quietOct 1, 10 PM — quietOct 2, 2 AM — quietOct 2, 6 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 2, 10 AM — 4 pieces · 4 articles — Newswires 4Oct 2, 2 PM — 18 pieces · 6 articles · 12 posts — Mastodon 11, Newswires 3, Reddit 2, +2 moreOct 2, 6 PM — 3 pieces · 2 posts · 1 comment — Mastodon 2, Reddit 1Oct 2, 10 PM — quietOct 3, 2 AM — quietOct 3, 6 AM — quietOct 3, 10 AM — quietOct 3, 2 PM — quietOct 3, 6 PM — quietOct 3, 10 PM — quietOct 4, 2 AM — quietOct 4, 6 AM — quietOct 4, 10 AM — quietOct 4, 2 PM — quietOct 4, 6 PM — quietOct 4, 10 PM — quietOct 5, 2 AM — quietOct 5, 6 AM — quietOct 5, 10 AM — quietOct 5, 2 PM — quietOct 5, 6 PM — quietOct 5, 10 PM — quietOct 6, 2 AM — quietOct 6, 6 AM — quietOct 6, 10 AM — quietOct 6, 2 PM — quietOct 6, 6 PM — quietOct 6, 10 PM — quietOct 7, 2 AM — quietOct 7, 6 AM — quietOct 7, 10 AM — quietOct 7, 2 PM — quietOct 7, 6 PM — quietOct 7, 10 PM — quietOct 8, 2 AM — quietOct 8, 6 AM — quietOct 8, 10 AM — quietOct 8, 2 PM — quietOct 8, 6 PM — quietOct 8, 10 PM — quietOct 9, 2 AM — quietOct 9, 6 AM — quietOct 9, 10 AM — quietOct 9, 2 PM — quietOct 9, 6 PM — quietOct 9, 10 PM — quietOct 10, 2 AM — quietOct 10, 6 AM — quietOct 10, 10 AM — quietOct 10, 2 PM — quietOct 10, 6 PM — quietOct 10, 10 PM — quietOct 11, 2 AM — quietOct 11, 6 AM — quietOct 11, 10 AM — quietOct 11, 2 PM — quietOct 11, 6 PM — quietOct 11, 10 PM — quietOct 12, 2 AM — quietOct 12, 6 AM — quietOct 12, 10 AM — quietOct 12, 2 PM — quietOct 12, 6 PM — quietOct 12, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quiet 1234–5
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  1. 5

    NYT reports Trump personally ordered Vought to fund the ads

    The New York Times reports Trump personally instructed OMB Director Russell Vought to direct taxpayer money toward the ad campaign, with at least four spots having run at a cost of roughly $5.5 million; the story also identifies aide Natalie Harp's role.

    “Sources: Trump personally told his budget director to use taxpayer money for TV ads praising his presidency; at least four spots have run at a cost of ~$5.5M…”
    — Mediagazer
    1. 2 outlets Trump Directed Use of Taxpayer Money for Ads Praising His Presidency

      first by Mercury News, 11d ago · also NYT

    • nytimes.com

      President Trump directed staff to use taxpayer money for TV ads praising him and his presidency, setting in motion a $20 million contract that used funds from the Department of Homeland Security, according to people familiar with the matter.

      nytimes.comBluesky11d ago394▲view on Bluesky ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 6 posts in this stretch
    • gleick@mas.to

      This identification of Natalie Harp is a nice touch. https://www. nytimes.com/2026/10/02/us/poli tics/trump-ads.html?unlocked_article_code=1.FlE.ADk7.TM_zqav0hb0K&smid=url-share

      gleick@mas.toMastodon11d ago14▲view on Mastodon ↗

    • I’m not a religious person, but if I were, and this was the type of message associated with what I believed in, I’d become an atheist immediately. This goblin was hatched by other disgusting goblins.

      hamtronnr/politics11d agoview on r/politics ↗
    all of them →
  2. 4

    Opinion piece calls the ad campaign 'blatantly illegal'

    A Hill opinion contributor argues the $2.5 million already spent, with up to $20 million planned, amounts to illegal taxpayer-funded propaganda.

    “Trump’s taxpayer-funded propaganda is blatantly illegal…”
    — Chris Truax
    1. 1 outlet Trump’s taxpayer-funded propaganda is blatantly illegal

      first by The Hill, 11d ago

      1 more headline
  3. 3

    Trump defends the ads as 'promoting the country'

    Trump personally defends the spending, insisting the spots are 'public service announcements' that promote the country rather than political advertising, even as some Republicans voice criticism.

    “Promoting The Country…”
    — Donald Trump

    1. 2 outlets first by ABC News, 12d ago · also ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos · read ↗

    2. 1 outlet first by HuffPost, 13d ago · read ↗

  4. 2

    White House defends the ad campaign

    The White House publicly defends using taxpayer dollars for the TV ad campaign promoting Trump ahead of the midterms.

    1. 1 outlet first by CBS News, 13d ago · read ↗

  5. 1

    CNN traces $20M ad funding to CBP, reveals legal complaints

    CNN reports the ads have cost at least $2.5 million so far with $20 million allocated via Customs and Border Protection under a budget line called 'OBBBA commemorative events'; Democratic senators Patty Murray and Chris Murphy send a letter to DHS and Public Citizen files an FCC/FTC complaint alleging violations of anti-propaganda law and the Hatch Act; musician JMSN sends a cease-and-desist over unauthorized use of his song in the ads.

    “a shockingly corrupt misuse of taxpayer dollars…”
    — Sens. Patty Murray and Chris Murphy
    1. 1 outlet Trump’s ads have cost taxpayers at least $2.5 million, with funding from Customs and Border Protection

      first by CNN, 14d ago

  6. background

    White House airs taxpayer-funded ad promoting Trump — Trump comes under criticism after the White House uses taxpayer money to broadcast a television ad promoting him.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 2 outlets Americans are paying millions for a batch of pro-Trump ads | Margaret Sullivan

    first by Guardian Media, 12d ago · also Guardian US

    1 more headline
  2. 1 outlet ‘God made Trump’ ad and at least 12 others are part of controversial taxpayer-funded ad campaign

    first by CNN, 11d ago

    1 more headline

and 2 smaller pieces

What people are saying 2 voices from 1 site · best of 6 · verbatim