CNN reveals Trump’s 12 unpublished ads paid for with public money, including spots about the operations in Iran and Venezuela

CNN has obtained the clips of the 12 ads, ranging from 15 seconds to 3 minutes, which sit in a Dropbox account run by the LMD agency, holder of the government contract for buying advertising space. Each ad ends with the line “Paid for by the U.S. Government”; only 3 have been broadcast so far on networks such as CBS, CNN, MS NOW and Fox News, as CNN reports.

Among the unpublished spots is a trio about the U.S. military and the operations in Iran and Venezuela. “Military Hype” shows fighter jets and missile-launch footage, plus Trump’s February speech announcing the war with Iran (“This regime will soon learn that no one should challenge the strength and might of the United States Armed Forces”). The “Maduro” spot mixes a speech by Nicolás Maduro with footage of Trump and his team at Mar-a-Lago after the capture of the Venezuelan leader.

The 3-minute spot “God Made Trump” was aired during the Republican midterms convention in Dallas: it portrays Trump as a messianic figure, with a variation of Paul Harvey’s “God Made a Farmer” (“I need somebody with arms strong enough to beat the deep state… So God made Trump”), created by the Dilley Meme Team, according to NPR. “King of the Jungle” (2 minutes) shows Trump’s political enemies — Obama, Biden, Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Gavin Newsom — among hunting lions and a bald eagle. “UFC 250” promotes the UFC company and the June bout at the White House with CEO Dana White; “Resilience” traces Trump’s path from a young New York real-estate developer to the presidency, with the 2023 Fulton County mugshot and video of the Butler assassination attempt.

At least $5.6 million has already been spent, according to the tracking firm AdImpact; $20 million in total has been allocated, with the funds coming from Customs and Border Protection. The real cost may be higher because public service announcements have different transparency rules from campaign ads. Trump personally directed the videos, helping choose the footage, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The criticism is bipartisan: Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin says the ads “could be criminal theft and conversion of government property for campaign political purposes”; Republican Senator Thom Tillis: “it is not an appropriate PSA… it is not how we should spend taxpayer dollars”; Senator John Cornyn: “It is not even a close question.” Watchdog groups say the ads violate the appropriations law that bans the use of federal funds for partisan propaganda, but Congress has not acted. The White House defends them as public service announcements; on Friday afternoon it responded by posting a video compilation of the president criticising CNN.