FCC head says government-funded Trump ads are ‘normal’ and ‘don’t raise any red flags’

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr defended recent television advertisements featuring President Donald Trump and paid for with public money, stating that the broadcasts are standard practice and do not warrant agency scrutiny.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Carr dismissed accusations that the spots amount to political propaganda, saying the broadcasts do not raise red flags. Carr aligned with White House explanations that characterized the commercials as regular public service announcements routinely seen on television. He maintained that nothing about the spots struck him as unusual or deserving of an official FCC inquiry.

The advertisements have been broadcast nationwide in recent weeks. One commercial features Trump discussing his desire to defeat communism, set to music by the artist JMSN. Another video is an abbreviated version of a 2024 campaign commercial, showing Trump walking through a hallway while urging viewers in a voice-over to help him fight the deep state and remove warmongers from federal office.

The campaign has triggered criticism across party lines on Capitol Hill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, remarked that the ads should not be financed with public funds. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, characterized the expenditures as a major breach of democratic norms.

Addressing the controversy from the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump rejected claims of impropriety, noting that he is not currently campaigning for office. He asserted that the commercials are intended for the spirit of the nation rather than personal benefit, though he added he would reimburse the costs if the practice was deemed improper.

The broadcasts have also drawn formal legal challenges. Progressive group Public Citizen lodged a complaint with the FCC, asserting that the administration is violating federal statutes that bar the use of public funds for self-aggrandizement, partisan marketing, or propaganda. The organization argued that the commercials do not qualify as genuine public service messages because they fail to provide practical information about any government initiative.

Carr rebuffed the complaint, accusing left-leaning organizations of attempting to weaponize regulatory procedures against the administration.

However, Anna Gomez, the sole Democratic member serving on the FCC, voiced serious misgivings in a statement to NBC News. She acknowledged public worries over the use of taxpayer funds for political promotion so close to an election and suggested that Congress would likely scrutinize the agency's actions further.

Carr, who was selected for the regulatory post by Trump, has drawn scrutiny in recent months for actions targeting television networks over perceived liberal bias. The agency previously accelerated broadcast license reviews for Disney-owned stations following an on-air joke by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, prompting a legal challenge from Disney that alleges unlawful government retaliation.