Trump sparks outcry over unprecedented election interference

By now, we all probably have seen ciips from of these three Donald Trump television campaign ads “paid for by the U.S. government.”

And while we’ve seen some bipartisan criticism for Trump blatantly violating federal campaign law, what we haven’t seen is anyone acting to stop him.

Indeed, Trump insists that the ads – at least one of which is mostly video imagery from his own 2024 presidential campaign, thundering against “warmongers” and “communists” – are a benign prod to Americans to vote in the Nov. 3 congressional elections.

Using public tax dollars for a campaign commercial is flatly illegal. Moreover, doing so intentionally is government propaganda, the preferred tool of authoritarian regimes that know they can act with impunity. And apparently, they are just getting started, with $2.5 million worth so far, but plans to spend up to $100 million.

But obviously, a Justice Department remade to protect Trump and aggressively prosecute his political foes is not going to bring charges against the White House or even request a legal injunction to stop them. Where are the state attorneys general to demand that courts pull the ads as illegal interference? For that matter, why do the networks allow the sale of commercial time to what clearly are illegal campaign ads?

Why is the Senate passing a bill about straightening a messy system about paying college athletes but ignoring a blatant campaign violation that even Republicans like Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana say is outrageous.

Backed by a largely compliant Supreme Court, Trump has cracked the code on doing whatever he wants in the name of the presidency – despite the tradition that campaigns have been regarded as beyond government behavior. We have Attorney General Todd Blanche and Defense/War Secretary Pete Hegseth openly campaigning – with Hegseth broadly suggesting to military troops to vote Republican – in violation of separate Hatch Act prohibitions.

Apparent Target: Voter Turnout

The Trump push — however late, however desperate – to get Republicans to pretend that he is on the ballot and vote anew for Republican candidates who will not question his presidency is aimed at voter turnout, of course. Turnout is pivotal, even in elections where manipulation seems part of the accepted game.

Apparently, the thinking is that incessant talk of “blue wave” outcomes based on polling that has systematically shown Trump’s backing to be falling and “generic” support for Democratic opponents rising will prove overconfident miscalculation if huge numbers of Trump supporters show up on Election Day.

It is true that national polls don’t accurately predict local elections, particularly in a period of voter anger over high prices and concerns about the war with Iran, tariffs, international isolation, the excesses of the Trump mass deportation policies, and the runaway “corruption” and self-adulation projects from Trump.

Still, it does not answer why, If Trump is sitting on hundreds of millions in Republican contributions, he insists on using millions of our tax money for these ads to promote himself?

The plain fact is that polling is the best tool available to collect people’s transient political ideas, but is no gauge of how many people will turn out to vote – particularly in states where Trump-friendly election officials are closing selective voting precincts and the White House is engaging in wild schemes to limit who can vote, how they can vote and when. Democrats and defending lawyers are working overtime to block each new voter limitation. Poll results are best used as a comparative snapshot rather than a scientific image of the current state of play.

More importantly, serious students of voter behavior, including the influential Cook Political Report, see plenty of evidence in sufficient numbers of local elections that match the national unhappiness with Team Trump. Together with an enthused Democratic voter base and an angered Independents’ reaction, Trump may have reason to rally his would-be supporters.

Trump’s latest ploy – using our tax money to promote himself – seems ludicrously desperate. He wants his base, his backers to “pretend” he is on the ballot, but then defends the use of taxpayer money to pay for them by his absence on the ballot. It’s a reminder to watch what politicians do rather than what they say.

The very presence of these illegal taxpayer-paid ads should be raising questions about the anti-democratic principles driving Trump’s presidency.

Terry H. Schwadron retired as a senior editor at The New York Times, Deputy Managing Editor at The Los Angeles Times and leadership jobs at The Providence (RI) Journal-Bulletin. He was part of a Pulitzer Gold Medal team in Los Angeles, and his team part of several Pulitzers in New York.