CNN’s Kaitlan Collins put conservative commentator Scott Jennings on the spot Monday night over the Trump administration’s increasingly controversial taxpayer-funded television ads — and one simple question proved surprisingly difficult to answer.
The White House has defended the advertisements as public service announcements.
But there’s an extraordinary problem with that explanation.
(Watch the video below)
One of the government-funded spots is nearly identical to material Donald Trump used during his 2024 presidential campaign.
The ad features Trump declaring, “This is the final battle,” while promising to “throw off the sick political class” and “rout the fake news media.”
During Trump’s 2024 campaign, remarkably similar footage and language were used in an actual campaign video.
This time, however, there’s a rather important addition at the end:
“Paid for by the U.S. Government.”
Collins raised the issue Monday night on CNN’s The Source before turning directly to Jennings.
“Scott, you cool with these ads?” she asked.
Jennings acknowledged that a reasonable person could object to them, but argued that presidential administrations routinely produce public service announcements.
He even conceded that if he were advising the White House, he probably wouldn’t have reused material from a previous campaign ad.
That prompted Collins to ask the obvious question.
“What’s the PSA here?”
Former Obama adviser Ashley Allison immediately jumped in:
“Vote for Republicans.”
Collins explained that when most Americans think of a public service announcement, they think of government warnings or information intended to help the public — a boil-water advisory, an approaching tornado or instructions about how to prepare for an emergency.
So what, exactly, was the public service being provided by this advertisement?
Jennings pointed to the White House’s explanation that the ad was intended to make Americans feel good about the country and push back against ideologies it considers harmful.
He again acknowledged that some of the material appeared to have come from previous campaign content.
“My personal advice would be maybe — maybe not — maybe not steal it from a previous campaign ad,” Jennings said.
Collins still wasn’t persuaded.
“OK. I’m still not sure what the public service announcement was, Scott.”
And the controversy surrounding the advertisements has only grown.
The Department of Homeland Security has allocated $20 million in taxpayer funds for the broader advertising campaign, according to the Associated Press. More than $2.5 million had already been spent as of Tuesday.
The criticism is also bipartisan.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said taxpayer dollars should not be paying for the advertisements, while Republican Sen. John Kennedy said public officials should not use public money for advertisements promoting themselves. Collins aired Kennedy’s comments during the same program.
The White House maintains that the advertisements are legitimate public service announcements rather than political campaign material.
Outside watchdogs disagree. Public Citizen filed complaints with federal regulators Tuesday alleging that the advertisements violate restrictions on taxpayer-funded propaganda and political activity. Those allegations have not been adjudicated.
But Collins didn’t need a lengthy legal argument to expose the basic question at the center of the controversy.
She just asked Jennings to explain what the “public service” actually was.
And after his answer, she still wasn’t sure she’d heard one.
About the Author
Kaitlan showed us all what a POS Scott Jenning is