The Democratic Party and the watchdog group Common Cause have each sued Donald Trump over a series of television advertisements paid for with public money. They say $20 million meant for border-security commemorations was redirected into political advertising weeks before the midterm elections.
The Democratic National Committee has filed a lawsuit against US President Donald Trump over publicly funded television advertisements that it says promote his political agenda, Al Jazeera reported, citing the Associated Press.
A second lawsuit over the same advertisements was filed later the same day, Wednesday, October 7, by the watchdog group Common Cause.
What Is Alleged
Both lawsuits say Trump directed the White House to repurpose $20 million that Congress had allocated for commemorative activities related to border security, including for people killed in the line of duty.
The money comes from a $175 million package that Congress assigned to the Department of Homeland Security.
The complaints make two legal arguments:
- that redirecting the money violates the separation of powers, because only Congress can decide how public funds are spent
- that it breaches a provision in spending laws barring the use of taxpayer money for “publicity or propaganda purposes”
What the Plaintiffs Say
“Donald Trump is misusing millions of taxpayer dollars to fund pure propaganda ads in a last-ditch attempt to save Republicans in November,” said Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Common Cause called the ads “overtly political”.
“These ads are not public-service announcements,” its lawsuit said. “They are personal publicity and political propaganda through and through.”
The Ads
- The campaign began airing in September
- Three ads have been shown so far
- It has cost more than $12 million to run so far, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact
In one, a choir sings “love me” over a montage of Trump as he declares that the US will “never be a communist country”.
Critics have pointed out that one of the ads appears almost identical to a spot Trump used in his 2024 re-election campaign.
What the Lawsuits Ask For
Both complaints want the ads declared illegal and the spending stopped. They also seek the recovery of any money already spent.
The Democrats’ case was filed in Washington, DC. The Common Cause case will be heard in the Southern District of New York.
Public Opinion
A separate poll reported by Al Jazeera found that most Americans oppose the taxpayer-funded ads.
Trump has described the advertisements as public-service announcements, a justification cited and rejected in the Common Cause complaint. The midterm elections are on November 3.
Image: The White House, Washington (file photo, 2024). Photo by DJTechYT via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
