Trump ad funded by taxpayers warns of 'final battle' before midterms

Updated Sept. 28, 2026, 7:46 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has launched another taxpayer-funded television ad ahead of the midterm election, warning of a “final battle” for Americans to defeat “the deep state,” Marxists and other “villains.”

The ad, which mirrors a commercial he aired during his 2024 presidential campaign, appeared during NFL games on Sunday. Sept. 27, a little more than five weeks until the Nov. 3 midterms with control of Congress at stake.

Federal law and annual appropriations acts approved by Congress prohibit public money paying for political advertisements, and the Hatch Act restricts federal employees from engaging in political activity.

In the 30-second ad, which appears visually in black and white, Trump is seen walking down a hallway as audio from a Trump speech is heard.

“This is the final battle,” Trump says in the ad. “With you at my side, we will demolish the deep state. We will expel the warmongers from our government. 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 defended the legality of the ad by arguing it’s a “public service announcement,” and asserted it isn’t political because there’s no call to action and Trump is not on the November ballot.

It’s the same defense the White House provided last week to justify a government-funded Trump ad that urged Americans to “defeat communism,” while touting Trump’s economic record and personal resilience, as a choir in the background recites the verse “Love me.”

The White House has not responded to inquiries from USA TODAY seeking answers about how much the government has paid for the ad campaign.

Democrats have slammed the ads and demanded the White House take it off the airwaves.

“This is the sort of government propaganda one might expect in North Korea, not the United States of America, and it is an egregious and utterly illegal misuse of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, vice chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, and other Democratic lawmakers wrote in a Sept. 24 letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles following the initial taxpayer-funded ad.

The letter pointed to a part of the 2026 federal appropriations law that says no government funds can be used for “publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States not heretofore authorized by Congress.”

Some Republicans have also criticized the ad campaign. “I don’t think any public official, including President Trump … should spend public money on private ads for themselves,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” when asked about the Trump ads. “Now, the White House sees it differently.”

Public Citizen, a progressive-leaning consumer rights advocacy group, filed a complaint with the Government Accountability Office last week, arguing the ads violate federal laws prohibiting the use of government resources for propaganda and the Hatch Act.

A White House spokesperson, who discussed the ads on the condition of anonymity, said the commercials are intended to remind Americans to love the United States and remind them why it’s worth defending. The official called the ad “educational and unapologetically patriotic,” adding that Americans should be proud of their country.

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