I first reported on this last night when I was watching Fox News and saw this ad. I posted about it on my various social media channels, but it occurred to me that some of you are working to reduce your social media time, so I also wanted to post about it here.
The White House aired this video as an ad during commercial breaks on Fox News.
It looks and sounds like a political spot and includes a disclaimer stating that it is paid for by the U.S. government.
The soundtrack: As images of Trump flash across the screen, singer JMSN can be heard repeating, “Love me, love me,” over and over.
The video combines Trump’s anti-communist message with rapid cuts of Trump, American flags, and military aircraft, alongside claims about tax cuts, manufacturing, and policing.
It ends with the UFC’s Dana White, one of Trump’s most loyal supporters and a board member of Meta, saying:
“He is the toughest, most resilient person that I’ve ever met, and nothing was going to stop him from fighting so hard for the country he loves.”
The reaction to the ad, which is embedded above, was largely negative.
JMSN — the singer whose song the White House used in this video — says he DID NOT grant a synchronization license or master-use license for his song and that he would never do so for any political purpose.
In the past, when musicians have complained about Trump using their music on social media, they usually can’t do much because TikTok and Instagram already have licensing agreements with the rights holders.
But in this case, the ad aired on Fox News.
So this means they need a synchronization license for the underlying composition and a separate master-use license for the actual recording.
JMSN is the sole credited songwriter on “Love Me,” and the recording was released by White Room Records, the independent label he founded.
Which means he has full control and ownership of his song.
The White House denied that the ads are political, saying in a statement: “These public service announcements are about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders…The PSAs are clearly not political. The President is not on the ballot and the ads don’t have a call to action.”
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle reacted negatively to the Trump ad. It’s worth noting that Tillis, who offered the sharpest Republican criticism, is not running for re-election and has said that decision gives him the ‘pure freedom to call the balls and strikes as I see fit.’”
Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH): In a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, said the ad “raises deep concerns about the Trump Administration’s use of taxpayer dollars” and that it “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.’” She demanded information on the ad’s cost, the source of the funding, the contractors involved, and whether money was diverted from other federal agencies.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD): Wrote on Twitter: “This may be felony criminal theft and conversion of government property for political campaign purposes. It is a Hatch Act violation for any government employees who worked on it or used government resources to make it. It is blatantly unethical under numerous federal ethics provisions proscribing the use of government resources for political campaigns.”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC): Told reporters: “It’s inappropriate. It’s not like they need a GoFundMe page to have the dollars to do that sort of ad and they could do it. But using taxpayer dollars, it feels like Viktor Orban.” Tillis is not running for reelection.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA): Said he had not seen the ad but questioned whether it was legal: “I don’t generally like to see politicians use public money to pay for their own campaign ads.”
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV): Introduced an amendment to her No Self-Promotion with Public Dollars Act to extend its ban on taxpayer-funded self-promoting ads to the President and Vice President, calling the spot “a national advertisement indistinguishable from a campaign commercial.” Rosen said: “Donald Trump cut funding for health care, food assistance, and countless other programs Nevada families rely on, while at the same time burning through taxpayer dollars on campaign ads featuring himself. Nevadans are sick and tired of this crap.”
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD): Sent a joint letter to Susie Wiles demanding the White House immediately take the ad off the air, discipline the federal employees who worked on it, and provide a full accounting of all federal funds used to create and air it.
They wrote: “This is the sort of government propaganda one might expect in North Korea, not the United States of America, and it is an egregious and illegal misuse of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars.” The letter says the ad violates Section 718 of Division E of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, which bars appropriated funds from being used for “publicity or propaganda purposes,” and “is also apparently a violation of Federal ethics laws, including the Hatch Act.” It concludes: “The law is not complicated. You cannot use taxpayer dollars for political advertisements.”
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