The White House published six videos in 24 hours about President Donald Trump's record, amid a court-ordered ban on the administration's use of taxpayer funds to pay for television ads in a similar style. Trump has been criticized for using federal funds to pay for the TV spots, which heavily focus on him, in the run-up to the midterm elections in November, with the Democratic National Committee among those suing over the campaign. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) preventing the Trump administration from using federal funds to pay for and air the ads for 14 days.
A filing Monday in the case brought by Common Cause alleged ads had still aired multiple times Monday. The YouTube and Truth Social videos shared Monday included multiple shots of the president accompanied by a voiceover reading part of a speech by President Theodore Roosevelt known as "The Man in the Arena," during which the former president laid out his belief that true credit belongs to those who take action, risking failure and criticism. Newsweek reached out to the White House, the DNC and Common Cause for comment Monday afternoon.
The videos published Monday to the White House YouTube channel did not include descriptions or details on who paid for or produced the videos. The Roosevelt speech clip included multiple shots of Trump delivering speeches or appearing at rallies, accompanied by dramatic music and the section from the speech delivered in 1910. It ended with a sustained shot of Trump at his desk in the Oval Office signing an executive order.
The section of the speech quoted in the voiceover was as follows: "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." Another video coming amid criticism of the White House's use of taxpayer funds to pay for allegedly partisan ads included a quote from Trump warning that if a person steals from the American people, they will go to prison, echoing his efforts to target waste and fraud within the federal government. A third focused on Democrats who had voted against one of the president's reelection campaign promises, which he later delivered on: no tax on tips.
Photos of Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Chuck Schumer of New York, and Jon Osoff of Georgia, as well as Representatives Jamie Raskin of Maryland, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Hakeem Jeffries of New York appear on screen while Trump was heard telling an audience that "every single" Democrat voted against the measure. The longest new video was nearly 1 minute and 30 seconds, with a voiceover from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who could be heard outlining what he sees as the president's achievements, including efforts on trade imbalances, the removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, and strengthening border security. Two others covered the no-tax-on-tips message from Americans, and the president's repeated pledge to give American adults $5,000 each if the GOP wins in the midterms.
The new social media videos appeared amid criticism of the Trump administration for airing ads on mainstream TV using taxpayer money. While the White House has insisted that the ads are public service announcements similar to those used by previous administrations to let Americans know about health care and safety measures, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have denounced the videos as partisan and, therefore, unlawful. Trump had said he would use his own super PAC funding instead, but the White House later clarified taxpayers would not be reimbursed for the money already spent.
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