Trump super PAC lights money on fire with $1M midterm ad, critics say

National PoliticsPresident Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House during a meeting with travel executives, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)AP Photo/Jacquelyn MartinBy Howard Koplowitz | hkoplowitz@al.comDonald Trump’s political operation torched about $1 million after it released a new midterm campaign ad that puts the spotlight on the deeply unpopular president, critics contend.Securing American Greatness, the nonprofit arm of Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC, went live with the ad on Tuesday, reported Teddy Schleifer of The New York Times.The 30-second spot opens with footage from UFC President and CEO Dana White lavishing praise on a smiling Trump.The visuals then turn to a montage of the president saluting rally crowds and a White House flyover before the ad shows footage of Trump’s closing remarks from his State of the Union address in February. “When the world needs courage, vision and inspiration, it is still turning to America,” Trump says. “There is no challenge Americans cannot overcome, no frontier too vast for us to conquer.”The ad closes with Trump’s inaugural address from 2025.“And our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud, prosperous and free,” Trump says.Trump critics and political observers said the president’s operation missed the mark with the ad.“Not a single mention of anything Trump has done to help anyone,” said Dan Pfeiffer, “Pod Save America” co-host and former senior adviser to Barack Obama. “This ad could not be more out of touch with the political moment.”The Republicans against Trump account on X mocked the ad’s rollout.“Make the midterms all about the deeply unpopular Trump. Brilliant strategy,” the account stated.Conservative radio host Erick Erickson also panned the ad.“The GOP is so screwed in November,” Erickson posted, “if this is how the president spends his money.”Added former Republican National Committee Chairman and Trump critic Michael Steele: Which GOP candidate is this supposed to help, again?David Axelrod, CNN’s chief political analyst and Obama’s former chief adviser, offered a dire midterm warning for the GOP based on the ad.“Maybe they think this will animate their base and soften discontent,” Axelrod posted, “but if the @GOP spends its money trying to assuage the @POTUS‘s ego, they are going to crash and burn this fall.”Joe Rogan mocks Trump over Lake Ontario name change: ‘It doesn’t make any sense’Ex-Trump attorney ‘absolutely’ open to replacing Karoline LeavittU.S. Rep Shomari Figures demands emergency hearing on Trump’s beef tariff rollbackTrump’s ‘gatekeepers’ are exiting. Does it actually matter?‘Narcissistic’ Trump draws outrage over envying honor given to astronaut’s dead wifeHoward Koplowitz is AL.com's Breaking & Trending Reporter for afternoons and nights. He has been with AL.com since 2015 and has served in a variety of roles, ranging from coverage of Donald Trump's first...