Trump’s Taxpayer-Funded “Final Battle” Ad Draws Midterm Scrutiny

President Donald Trump has rolled out another taxpayer-funded television ad ahead of the November midterms, this time warning of a “final battle” against the “deep state,” warmongers, and other “villains,” USA Today and TIME reported.

The 30-second black-and-white spot shows Trump walking down a hallway over audio that closely matches a 2024 campaign video. It ends with on-screen text saying the ad was “Paid for by the U.S. Government,” replacing the earlier campaign disclaimer. CNN and AdImpact data cited by TIME said the new spot aired during at least two NFL games on Sunday, Sept. 27, with spending already topping about $362,000.

“This is the final battle,” Trump says in the ad, according to USA Today. “With you at my side, we will demolish the deep state. We will expel the warmongers from our government. We will cast out the communists, Marxists and fascists. We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout the fake news media, and we will liberate America from these villains, once and for all.”

The White House has framed the spots as “public service announcements,” arguing they are not campaign ads because Trump is not on the November ballot and there is no call to action. A spokesperson told TIME the messages are meant to remind Americans to love their country and understand why it is worth defending. Democrats on appropriations panels have demanded the ads leave the air, pointing to annual funding-bill bans on taxpayer-funded “publicity or propaganda,” while Public Citizen has filed complaints seeking Government Accountability Office and Hatch Act review.

Some Republicans have also objected. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told CBS’s Face the Nation he does not think public officials should spend public money on private ads for themselves. The “final battle” buy sits alongside earlier government-funded spots, including a “Love Me” montage and a Mount Rushmore anniversary piece, that together have drawn bipartisan scrutiny with control of Congress less than six weeks away. Readers following White House messaging on Daily News can track how the legal and political fight over the ads develops before Nov. 3.

Verified facts as of Sept. 27–28 reports: the black-and-white “final battle” ad is taxpayer-funded, closely mirrors a 2024 Trump campaign video, aired during Sunday NFL windows, and has drawn criticism from Democrats and some Republicans while the White House defends it as a PSA. How investigators and lawmakers treat the funding source will shape whether the midterm ad blitz continues on the public dime.