Republican senator criticizes White House for taxpayer-funded Trump ads
John Kennedy pushes back against such spending as pro-Trump ‘public service announcements’ air before midterms
TL;DR
- Senator John Kennedy questions the use of taxpayer money for ads featuring Donald Trump.
- Kennedy calls similar past spending by Kristi Noem "masterclass dumb" and implies current ads featuring Trump are also inappropriate.
- The White House categorizes these ads as "public service announcements."
- Some ads were originally produced for Trump's 2024 election campaign and have been used in partisan contexts.
- Kennedy suggests there should be a rule against using public money for self-promotion, hinting at potential Hatch Act violations.
- Kennedy also opposes naming public buildings after living politicians.