In a complaint filed today, Public Citizen called on broadcasters to stop airing the Trump commercials, which it claims misuse taxpayer funds for political campaigning. The group specifically cited an ad titled "The Final Battle," which it says is a near-identical copy of a 2024 election campaign ad run by Trump's campaign committee. The key difference is that the new version is labeled as "Paid for by the US government" instead of by the campaign.
The ad shows black-and-white footage of Trump walking sternly down a corridor as a voiceover states: "This is the final battle. With you at my side, we will demolish the deep state. We will expel the warmongers from our government." Trump also declares in the spot: "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."
The White House has characterized the recent ads as public service announcements, a claim that Public Citizen disputes. The group argues that using federal funds to air what it considers campaign-style messaging violates laws designed to prevent taxpayer dollars from being used for propaganda purposes and to limit political activity by federal employees.