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At first glance, it looks like a typical Republican campaign ad. As images of President Donald Trump flash across the screen, the 30-second spot says “America will never be a communist country” and boasts about the “biggest tax cuts in history”.
But there’s something different near the end – some text at the bottom that says “paid for by the US government.”
According to AdImpact, which tracks media spending, the ad cost $14,000 and ran during primetime showings on Fox News and Newsmax.
The White House said in a statement that the ad is “educational and unapologetically loving.”
“These public service announcements are about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what is worth protecting, at home, at our borders, and abroad,” the White House statement said.
Fox News and Newsmax did not immediately return a request for comment.
The White House did not say which group paid for the spot, which includes background music with singers chanting “I love you” over and over.
The ad does not say which voters should support in the midterms, but it ties in with campaign messages from Trump and other Republicans, particularly at the party’s extraordinary convention in Dallas earlier this month.
Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who will chair the House Judiciary Committee if his party wins the majority in November, said in a post on social media that it is a violation of the Hatch Act for government employees to work on such a video.
“It is grossly unethical under several federal ethics provisions to prohibit the use of government resources for political campaigns,” Raskin wrote.
Republicans also criticized the ad.
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who is not running for re-election, cited the right-wing former prime minister of Hungary to criticize the ad.
“It’s inappropriate. It’s not like they needed a GoFundMe page to have the dollars to do that kind of ad and they could do it. But using taxpayer dollars, it feels like Viktor Orban,” he said.
Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy said he had not seen the ad but questioned whether it was legal.
“In general I don’t like to see politicians using public money to pay for their own campaign ads,” he said.
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Associated Press reporters Joey Cappelletti and Steven Sloan in Washington contributed to this article.
