Washington Examiner executive editor Bob Cusack reacted to a new anti-communist ad featuring President Donald Trump, arguing that Trump is not popular enough to run an ad like that.
“If you had shown me that ad a year ago, I would have said, ‘OK, well, Trump’s numbers probably have to be around 50%,’ they’re nowhere near 50%,” Cusack said on CNN’s CNN This Morning on Friday.
“Meaning, running an ad like that, you need to be on a victory lap?” CNN host Audie Cornish said.
“Exactly,” Cusack replied.
“And honestly, 2025, he was on a victory lap, and Big Beautiful Bill passed, and then what happened: Epstein files, the war, the tariffs haven’t ended,” Cusack said.
The Big Beautiful Bill Act made several tax provisions permanent and added new ones. It cut down on spending for Medicaid, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, and fulfilled no taxes on tips or overtime.
Trump also came under fire for the release of the Epstein files, his relationship with Epstein, starting the Iran war, and ongoing tariffs.
CNN played the ad, which says it was paid for by the U.S. government, which was posted on X by AdImpact Politics.
The video plays a clip of the song “Love Me” by R&B singer JMSN, and starts with Trump saying, “Together we will defeat communism, socialism, and Marxism in America.”
“America will never be a communist country,” he continues, as those words stay on the screen and are paired with a flash montage of photos of the president.
The video briefly stops to flash the words, “Largest tax cuts in history,” “Reigniting American manufacturing,” and “Defend law and order and police.”
“He is the toughest, most resilient person that I’ve ever met, and nothing was going to stop him from fighting so hard for the country he loves,” UFC CEO Dana White said about Trump at the end of the video.
JMSN responded to the ad and accused Trump of using his song “illegally.”
“To anybody who has followed my career and knows what I stand for and built my career on, it should go without saying that I would never authorize my music to be used for ANY political agenda or campaign,” he said on Instagram Thursday.
“I’ve built my career independently outside of any major system and have made it a point to not sacrifice my artistic integrity,” the songwriter wrote. “I don’t have a publicist or anything so being forced in a situation like this and having to comment is ridiculous. I am looking at lawyers and handling this internally.”
Trump’s job approval rating sits at about 39%, according to RealClearPolitics average of polls.
IRANIAN PRESIDENT SAYS ENRICHED URANIUM IS ‘NOT A BIG DEAL’
Cusack highlighted the battle Republicans face with Trump, including his involvement in Iran, which is driving up U.S. gas prices.
“Now he’s fighting with everybody, he’s fighting with the Republican lawmakers, he’s fighting with Canada, he’s fighting with the media, but the big thing is that the Iran war is just sucking all the oxygen out of the room,” Cusack said.