Demand an immediate investigation into the Trump administration's use of federal funds to air political propaganda on national television. I was watching football when a glossy Trump highlight reel rolled across my screen — twice — paid for by the U.S. Government. Ad trackers put spending on the first spot alone at over $443,000 by last Friday. That money came from my taxes and yours.
This isn't a gray area. Section 718 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 — the law Trump himself signed — bans using federal appropriations for partisan or self-aggrandizing publicity. The GAO has enforced that ban against both parties. Even Kevin Kosar, a scholar at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, looked at these ads and called them puffery. A 30-second montage of Trump photos set to a chorus singing "love me," closing with a UFC promoter calling him the toughest man alive, is not a public service announcement. It's a campaign ad with a government seal on it.
Speaker Johnson sent the House home until after the midterms and hasn't called members back. That silence is a choice, and it's the wrong one. Demand the GAO open a formal review, demand the White House pull these ads immediately, and put your name on the record. My tax dollars don't belong in any president's highlight reel.
First sent on September 28 by Jeffrey Barlow
iMessage
Text
