What did Donald Trump do today?

He used taxpayer money to run a campaign ad, then said he'd "campaign" in two of the safest Republican seats left. 

Americans watching TV tonight may have seen a campaign ad for Trump and his version of the Republican policy agenda. They also paid for it: it contained a tagline stating that it was "paid for by the US government." White House officials called the ad a "public service announcement." 

Federal agencies are permitted to buy airtime for public service announcements. President Biden's administration used them to provide information about COVID vaccines, and the George W. Bush administration aired anti-drug ads. But it is explicitly illegal to use taxpayer money to run political ads.

The only people who speak during the ad are Trump, and one of his megadonors, who praises Trump personally as "tough" and "resilient." Most of the visuals are split-second images of Trump. No policy goal is mentioned, other than defeating "communism." (Trump, who is hosting a world leader who actually calls himself a communist at a luxurious state dinner tonight, uses the word to mean Americans who oppose him politically.)

It's unlikely that the ad, which ran only on the Trump-friendly Fox News and the fringe-right Newsmax, will actually persuade anyone to change their vote—much less "make them love me," which are the lyrics that air over pictures of Trump's face. But Trump is increasingly desperate as polls point to another anti-Trump wave election in the midterms, possibly even bigger than voters' rejection of his first-term agenda in 2018. Republican candidates are scrubbing his name from their campaign literature, and even denouncing him by name on camera.

Trump, meanwhile, has committed to the strategy of making the election all about him, literally begging his core voters to pretend he's on the ballot. At his so-called "midterm convention" earlier this month, which most Republican candidates in close races avoided, he led the sparse crowd in a pledge to vote, and even to "cheat like hell" if necessary. 

That combination of factors—his deep personal unpopularity combined with his determination to be the center of attention—may explain his announcement today of upcoming campaign stops in Oklahoma and Alabama. Both stops are in deep red districts in deep red states, and Oklahoma is one of only two states where his approval rating is above 50%. The planned rally in Mobile would have Trump shoring up support for a district that the Republican incumbent won by 57% in 2024. The Oklahoma rally would take place in a district where the Republican incumbent won by 53%.

No elected Republican who is on the ballot in 2026 from either state has commented yet, or committed to appearing with Trump. 

Why does this matter?

• As illegal as stealing taxpayer money for propaganda is, doing it like this is even more pathetic.