Dem
53
Ties
2
GOP
45
Trump has no money for brown people, but he does have money for some other... priorities. To wit, the White House has been airing "public service" announcements for the last several days, largely during football broadcasts and on Fox "News." There are three of them so far. They are a blend of Triumph of the Will and a Michael Bay film.
Here is the first one, entitled "Love Me":
Here is a transcript:
Trump: Together we will defeat communism, socialism, and Marxism in America. America will never be a communist country.
Dana White: He's the toughest, most resilient person that I've ever met, and nothing was going to stop him from fighting so hard for the country he loves.
Here is the second one, entitled "Golden Age":
Here is a transcript:
In all the chronicles of the ages, never before has any nation celebrated so magnificent a triumph as this one. We are the freest people on earth, and by the grace of God, the United States of America is the most successful, most accomplished, most exceptional nation ever to exist in human history. Liberty has prevailed here because of the culture and character of the people who declared it, defended it, and preserved it. We reach a milestone like no other and celebrate with joyful hearts and soaring spirits because after 2½ centuries... we know that this is not an ending. This is only the beginning of the golden age of America. God bless you all.
Here is the third one, entitled "Final Battle":
Here is a transcript:
This is the final battle. With you at my side, we will demolish the deep state. We will expel the warmongers from our government. We will drive out the globalists, we will cast out the communists, Marxists and fascists. We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout the fake news media, and we will liberate America from these villains, once and for all.
These ads would be obnoxious if they were paid for by one of Trump's many PACs. But, in fact, they are being paid for by the United States government (exact funding source unknown at this point). So, if you are a U.S. taxpayer, then congratulations! You are funding the Republican Party's 2026 election campaign.
Trump claims that the ads are not political advertisements, since he is not on the ballot this year, and instead are public service announcements, not unlike the Biden-era COVID-19 vaccination commercials, or the Obama-era enroll-in-the-ACA commercials. There are several problems with Trump's argument: (1) He appears in the ads, while Biden/Obama largely were not present in theirs; (2) The Biden/Obama ads provided information of public interest, whereas the Trump ads do not and (3) Trump has insisted, over and over, including at the midterm "convention," that voters should act as if he is on the ballot.
Even many Republicans are furious about the ads. They really want the unpopular Trump to disappear for 5-6 weeks, and yet he keeps inserting himself into the elections. On top of that, finding government money to spend on this, when he's (illegally) cutting funding for other projects (see above), not to mention imposing economic pain on many Americans, is a very bad look. In fact, it fits right in with the recurring theme of "corruption." Finally, the last ad, where Trump talks about getting rid of the warmongers in government, is particularly tone-deaf. If you are looking for warmongers in government, the obvious candidate would seem to be the fellow who started wars in Venezuela and Iran, entirely of his own volition.
Trump really is pushing things to their legal limits these days. In this case, allow us to point out that the ads are very likely illegal (for example, a violation of 18 U.S. Code 641, which establishes a prison sentence of up to 10 years for anyone who "embezzles, steals, purloins, or knowingly converts to his use or the use of another, or without authority, sells, conveys or disposes of any record, voucher, money, or thing of value of the United States or of any department or agency thereof"). Trump is, of course, counting on the fact that the Supreme Court made him into Louis XIV. However, longstanding legal precedent, including jurisprudence from the current Court, makes clear that campaigning is not part of a president's official duties. And it is when he is performing official duties that SCOTUS said he is above the law. Trump is also presumably planning a self-pardon when he leaves office. But the legality of such a maneuver has never been tested. Point being, if Trump plays with fire enough, he might well leave himself in a position to get burned, no matter how fireproof he thinks he is. (Z)