The White House released a second government-sponsored broadcast advertisement on Friday claiming the U.S. is the most successful nation in history amid growing bipartisan backlash over the apparent use of taxpayer dollars to fund the spots.
“Liberty has prevailed here because of the culture and character of the people who declared it, defended it and preserved it,” President Donald Trump’s voice narrates in the latest advertisement video, accompanied by footage of Mount Rushmore and Trump’s July Fourth speech. “We know that this is not an ending. This is only the beginning of the golden age of America.”
It is still unclear how much the government spent on the second ad, but the newly released minute-long video has at least aired on Newsmax’s “Carl Higbie Frontline” and “Greg Kelly Reports” shows, according to ad tracker AdImpact.
The first ad, called “Love Me,” dropped Wednesday and has cost at least $443,000, per AdImpact.
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Administration spokespeople said the videos — labeled “Paid for by the U.S. Government” — are considered “public service announcements” with the goal of educating Americans to be “unapologetically patriotic.” The White House doubled down on its message through an official press release Friday afternoon, saying that past administrations, dating back as far as President Woodrow Wilson, had used the airways to inform the public.
“When prior Administrations utilized the airwaves, it was called ‘public education.’ When this Administration promotes pride in our country, many of those same voices call it ‘propaganda,’” the statement read.
The two advertisements prompted sharp bipartisan criticism from lawmakers and calls for investigations into the administration’s federal spending on political ads, just over a month before this year’s midterm elections.
“The advertisement does not have a clear official government purpose and appears to run afoul of federal prohibitions against the use of appropriated funds as part of ‘a general propaganda effort designed to aid a political party or candidates,’” Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire) wrote in a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles on Thursday, referencing the first advertisement.
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