Of all the things Donald Trump has used
our taxpayer dollars for -- in an effort to fill the bottomless void of his narcissistic personality disorder -- I'd have to say a paid ad calling on the American people to "love me" is the worst.
Not because of the cost. The media buy on Fox's "Jesse Watters Primetime" probably cost $15,000 to $45,000, assuming he didn't also qualify for the lowest unit rate. That pales in comparison to his
ego-satiating construction projects (East Wing Ballroom, Arc de Trump, etc.), or in the case of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a deconstruction project.
It's just the idea
that he has used any of my federal income tax to pay for his plea of self-adoration.
The spot (see below) isn't actually called "Love Me," although it does use JMSN's "Love Me" as the theme music for its soundtrack, in case we didn't understand the spot's, um, call-to-action.
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I also
don't know if the media buy was illegal or constituted a misappropriation of federal funds, but it once again lowered the bar of what Trump could do with the presidency.
“Taxpayer
dollars should never be used to bolster the President’s self-esteem because his ego has been damaged,” Common Cause President & CEO Virginia Kase Solomón notes in a
just-released statement calling for the TV ad to be immediately pulled from other media placements.
“Running political messaging stamped with ‘Paid for by the
U.S. Government’ dangerously crosses the line from public service into authoritarian self-promotion," she continues, noting: "It also raises serious questions about whether it violates federal
law barring tax dollars from being used for publicity or propaganda. Common Cause demands an immediate halt to this ad and a full accounting of how government resources were funneled into a personal
PR campaign. This ad, in combination with Trump TV, shows a president afraid of the free press and political accountability at the polls.”
Of course, even if the paid media
campaign ends, Trump and his coms team have already likely generated an ample amount of "earned" media coverage to achieve its objectives:
- "Owning the Libs" (AKA, the vast majority of
Americans who no longer approve of and/or likely detest him).
- Generating media coverage amid a press pool embargo.
- Filling the black void where his heart
should be.
In terms of overall Trump media hijinks, the message of the spot itself well, shows how thirsty for adoration he truly is.
But coming on the heels of his White House
press member bans, momentary court-injunction defiance, and other attempts to pull the free press's media strings, it's just another one of his tactics.
Sorry I didn't weigh in sooner on all
of that, but my immediate reaction to the White House press pool's own embargo was, "It's about time."
I've been calling for the White House press to bypass Trump ever since his first day in
office in January 2017, when he officially declared war on America's free press.
I understand why they've continued to give him oxygen ever since, but enough is a enough. Am I right?
Plus, it would be a hoot to see all the obnoxious paid media spots he'd try and run in lieu of free press coverage, earned or unearned.