Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair on Trump’s Taxpayer Funded Propaganda Commercials: “No Big Deal”

Oct 9, 2026 05:47 PM EDT, Fri

FCC’s Carr brushes off concerns about Trump’s taxpayer-paid election ads

“No Big Deal” To see literal campaign propaganda as “normal PSAs” is obviously preposterous — except to Trump’s FCC chair.

By Steve Benen

Sept. 30, 2026, 4:13 PM EDT

With five weeks remaining in the midterm election cycle, Donald Trump and his White House team have unveiled three propagandistic campaign ads, which are being financed entirely by American taxpayers and which appear to ignore federal law that prohibits the use of public funds for “propaganda purposes.”

The most recent installment in the series is the most brazen: It simply recycles one of the president’s 2024 campaign ads and includes the phrase “Paid for by the U.S. government” at the end.

To date, the price tag for these campaign ads is nearing at least $2.5 million, which is coming from money the Republicans’ domestic policy megabill had directed to Customs and Border Protection.

Any chance the Federal Communications Commission might take an interest in such a brazen abuse? Apparently not. Deadline reported:

The chairman of the FCC on Wednesday dismissed concerns about the White House use of taxpayer money to pay for a series of ads promoting President Donald Trump.

Noting that the administration has defended the spots as public service announcements “that you see all the time,” Carr told reporters, “I don’t think there’s anything unique or different about it, other than being a normal PSA, the types of PSAs that the government naturally and normally runs.”

The suggestion that these campaign ads are public service announcements is ridiculous to the point of being insulting. Most Americans have seen public service announcements, which, by definition, are designed to advance the public’s interests, usually by promoting causes related to safety and health. Ads encouraging people to wear seat belts, steer clear of illicit drugs, curtail pollution and avoid drunk driving, for example, are classic examples. Some public service announcements even become cultural touchstones of sorts, such as Smokey the Bear telling Americans, “Only you can prevent forest fires.”

To see literal campaign ads as “normal PSAs” is obviously preposterous. Even several congressional Republicans have conceded the White House went too far on this one.

And yet, Trump’s partisan FCC chief is inclined to toe Team Trump’s line.

The problem might very well get worse before it gets better. The Associated Press reported that the Department of Homeland Security has “tapped $20 million” to pay for the campaign ads, and the administration has given every indication that the abuse of taxpayer money will intensify as Election Day draws closer.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”

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