Democrats sue Trump to halt taxpayer-funded TV ads that praised him

Democratic ​Party officials sued US President Donald Trump on ‌Wednesday, ​seeking a court order blocking his administration from using taxpayer money to pay for election-related TV ads. The lawsuit, filed by the Democratic National Committee in federal court in Washington, accused ‌Trump of a "blatant violation of the statutory ban on the use of appropriations for 'publicity or propaganda purposes.'"

Taxpayer-funded television ads glorifying Trump began airing in late September, sparking a bipartisan backlash. A separate suit was filed in New York on Wednesday seeking a court order ‌to block the taxpayer-funded ads. The suit says "these ads are not public-service announcements -- they are personal publicity and political ‌propaganda through and through." The plaintiffs are watchdog group Common Cause, a public employee union and a candidate for Alabama state representative.

In a post on his Truth Social site on Monday, Trump said he considered the ads to be "a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A." but that they would no longer be ⁠funded ​by taxpayers. The White House said ⁠this week his MAGA PAC would fund the ads. The DNC, the main governing organization of the Democratic Party, said in its lawsuit that the ads ⁠continued to air after Trump's comments.

"With less than 30 days remaining before the midterm election and millions of public dollars apportioned to pay ​for propaganda ads still unspent, the DNC has no choice but to take action in defense of free and fair ⁠elections," the lawsuit stated. The ads ran during football games as recently as Sunday and during other programming. The New York Times reported that Trump personally directed ⁠the ​White House budget director to use taxpayer money for the TV spots, citing sources.

One ad features Trump declaring that "America will never be a communist country" while a chorus repeats the words "love me." Another combines images of Mount Rushmore with footage ⁠of Trump praising a "golden age of America." Another new ad recently has featured ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. A source briefed on the ⁠matter told Reuters the government-funded ⁠ads will end this week.

The White House said Trump's political action committee will not reimburse taxpayers for the ads that have run to date. The ads end with a disclaimer saying ‌they were paid ‌for by the US government.