Massie, Kennedy Criticize Trump's Taxpayer-Funded TV Ads
Republican congressman and senator question the use of public funds for presidential promotions.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Outgoing Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has attacked President Donald Trump for running a series of patriotic TV spots more at home in ‘banana republics’ (Getty)
Photograph: The Independent (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Rep. Thomas Massie has criticized President Donald Trump's taxpayer-funded TV ads, calling them "ominous" and comparing them to those in "banana republics."
- Sen. John Kennedy stated that public officials should not spend public money on private ads for themselves.
- A White House spokesperson defended the ads as "educational and unapologetically patriotic," asserting they are not political.
- The ads feature President Trump with patriotic imagery and audio clips, including rally speeches and praise from UFC boss Dana White.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
61/100
Hype
41/100
6 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Republican Representative Thomas Massie has criticised President Donald Trump over taxpayer-funded television advertisements that prominently feature the president. Massie described one ad as "ominous" and suggested its legality was comparable to that found in "banana republics."
The advertisements in question are described as featuring President Trump with patriotic imagery and audio clips from rallies. One ad includes audio of Trump stating, "This is the final battle. With you at my side, we will demolish the deep state. We will expel the warmongers from our government." Another ad compiles patriotic remarks made by the president over footage of Mount Rushmore.
A White House spokesperson stated that the advertisements are "public service announcements" intended to remind Americans to "love their country" and understand "what makes it worth defending." The spokesperson added that the ads are "educational and unapologetically patriotic" and not political, as the president is not on the ballot and the ads lack a call to action.
Divergent views on public funds for political figures
Senator John Kennedy also addressed the use of public funds for political advertising. Appearing on CBS' "Face the Nation," Kennedy stated, "I don’t think any public official, including President Trump or Kristi Noem or John Kennedy, should spend public money on private ads for themselves." He suggested there ought to be a rule against such spending. Kennedy also commented on efforts to rename buildings after politicians while they are alive, proposing a rule against it.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated reports mention the specific cost of the taxpayer-funded advertisements. Additionally, the reports do not include details about the "deep state" or "warmongers" mentioned in the ad's audio, nor do they elaborate on the "golden age of America" promise.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 3 times, most recently on 28 Sept 2026, 13:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
6 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports focused on the criticism of President Trump's ads. The Independent and The Independent (US) highlighted Rep. Thomas Massie's strong condemnation, quoting his "banana republics" remark and his assertion that the ads represented "waste, fraud, and abuse." HuffPost and Joe.My.God. centred their reporting on Sen. John Kennedy's remarks, with Joe.My.God. using the headline "Sen. Foghorn Leghorn Rips Trump’s US-Paid Ad Blitz." Mediaite and Raw Story also featured Kennedy's criticism, with Mediaite noting his "pro-MAGA" stance and Raw Story highlighting his expectation of being mocked by Trump. All reports mentioned the White House's defence of the ads as educational and patriotic.
Centre
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated centre has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Massie, Kennedy Criticize Trump's Taxpayer-Funded TV Ads?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 100% are rated left, 0% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Massie, Kennedy Criticize Trump's Taxpayer-Funded TV Ads left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Massie, Kennedy Criticize Trump's Taxpayer-Funded TV Ads biased?
- Massie, Kennedy Criticize Trump's Taxpayer-Funded TV Ads is one event reported by 6 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Massie, Kennedy Criticize Trump's Taxpayer-Funded TV Ads?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Massie, Kennedy Criticize Trump's Taxpayer-Funded TV Ads?
- 6 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Rep. Thomas Massie say about the ads?
- Rep. Thomas Massie criticised President Donald Trump's taxpayer-funded TV ads, describing them as "ominous" and comparing their legality to practices in "banana republics." He also suggested they represented "waste, fraud, and abuse."
- What was Sen. John Kennedy's stance on the ads?
- Sen. John Kennedy stated that public officials, including President Trump, should not spend public money on private advertisements for themselves. He suggested there should be a rule against such spending and also proposed a rule against naming buildings after living politicians.
- How did the White House respond to the criticism?
- A White House spokesperson defended the ads as "public service announcements" that are "educational and unapologetically patriotic." They stated the ads aim to remind Americans to love their country and are not political because the president is not on the ballot and the ads lack a call to action.
Read it at the source
6 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
6- Massie hits out at Trump over TV ads: ‘This is legal... in banana republics’ (opens The Independent (US) in a new tab)
The Independent (US) — is The Independent (US) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Massie hits out at Trump over TV ads: ‘This is legal... in banana republics’ (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Sen. Foghorn Leghorn Rips Trump’s US-Paid Ad Blitz (opens Joe.My.God. in a new tab)
Joe.My.God. — is Joe.My.God. biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Pro-MAGA Senator Calls Out Trump for Spending Public Money on TV Ad: ‘I May End Up With A Sombrero On My Head, But…’ (opens Mediaite in a new tab)
- 'We Ought To Have A Rule': GOP Senator Responds To Trump's 'Love Me' Ads, Rebrands (opens HuffPost in a new tab)
- MAGA senator braces for Trump to mock him after proposing new 'rule' for president (opens Raw Story in a new tab)
Centre
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
