Trump commercial railing against his enemies kept airing after court blocked it

Government-funded television commercials featuring Donald Trump continued to air after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order halting the buys on the evening of October 11, 2026. The ads - including one in which Trump attacks perceived political enemies and another recycling a 2024 campaign spot now labeled as government-funded - were part of a roughly $20 million media purchase by U.S. Customs and Border Protection through LMD Agency. Despite DHS telling the court the placements would expire on October 11, AdImpact data and plaintiffs’ filings show the spots ran into October 12 and nearly 400 times after the TRO took effect, appearing on programs such as 60 Minutes and ABC World News Tonight. Plaintiffs alerted the court, and a U.S. attorney later filed a status report apologizing, saying agency counsel did not see the court’s emailed TRO until the following morning.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon concluded plaintiffs are likely to succeed in proving the advertisements are partisan, unrelated to DHS functions, and therefore violate the Consolidated Appropriations Act’s ban on domestic government-funded publicity or propaganda, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act because Congress did not appropriate money for such ads. As of October 8 one ad had reportedly run about 9,679 times, generating roughly 972 million impressions and over $9 million in spending, with about $15.4 million spent across challenged ads. The TRO runs two weeks and can be converted into a preliminary injunction; a hearing is scheduled and a parallel suit by the DNC proceeds in Washington, D.C.