The Department of Homeland Security set aside $20 million for TV ads. Not for emergency preparedness or border security updates. For campaign commercials starring Donald Trump, three weeks before the midterms. AdImpact says $12 million has already been spent. The DNC filed a lawsuit last week, and the lawsuit is the boring part. Nobody had to be coerced into this. DHS budgeted it as a line item. Your tax money, converted into thirty-second spots about how great the president is, aired in swing districts where Republican House candidates are polling underwater.
Trump’s defense: “Done by presidents before.” The answer of a man who has never once paid for something he could bill to someone else. The White House says he’s not on the ballot, so the ads aren’t political. They feature him, promote his policies, and air exclusively in competitive districts. But sure. Totally nonpartisan. The check came from the department responsible for keeping you safe, and it bought you a campaign commercial instead.