Judge orders Trump to pull taxpayer-funded adverts

A US federal judge has ordered Donald Trump’s administration to stop running taxpayer-funded television adverts promoting the president, weeks before November’s midterm elections.

US District Judge Jennifer Rochon issued a temporary restraining order on Sunday barring the administration from making or airing the ads for 14 days. The administration has used $20 million (€17.7m) of Department of Homeland Security funds to pay for them, according to US media reports.

"Defendants shall not enter into, renew, or expand any agreement authorizing the development, creation, dissemination, placement, or airing of the challenged advertisements," Rochon said in the court order.

The plaintiffs, represented by the nonprofit legal group Democracy Forward, argued the adverts "exceed the purposes authorized by Congress and violate restrictions on publicity and propaganda".

"We are pleased the court acted swiftly to prevent more taxpayer dollars from being used for such blatantly unlawful political propaganda," they said in a statement.

The White House has defended the spending, describing the adverts as public service announcements.

The first, broadcast in late September, featured a song saying "Love Me" as Trump declared "America will never be a communist country." Another showed black-and-white footage of Trump walking down a hallway as he warned of a "final battle", with an onscreen message reading: "Paid for by the US Government."

The campaign has drawn criticism from both parties. Democratic Senator John Hickenlooper called the adverts "illegal", while some senior Republicans voiced reservations.

Trump, who is not on the ballot but is campaigning to help Republicans keep control of Congress, said last week that he and his campaign would pay for the adverts. The White House later told AFP the post "was not referring to reimbursement."