WASHINGTON — Late Sunday night a federal judge ordered the administration to stop running the television commercials it had been paying for with your money, and the country should take a moment to appreciate how generous that ruling really is, because what the court actually did was give the American taxpayer the right to shut up.

For two weeks the ads ran on national television. They cost, by the count in the complaint, roughly $20 million, and the money came from the Department of Homeland Security, which is to say from you. One spot showed the President talking about communism. Another was a rerun of a campaign ad from a campaign you already paid for. The judge, Jennifer L. Rochon of the Southern District of New York, ruled that this was an illegal misuse of funds and canceled the rest of the buy, including the spots scheduled for that very night.

"For the first time in American history, a court has recognized that the taxpayer has a First Amendment right not to hear himself praised. It is a landmark. It is also, frankly, a courtesy."

The administration’s lawyers argued the ads were educational. This is the part Americans understood immediately, because every American has been in this exact meeting. You buy something for the household, it turns out to be for someone else, and when you complain you are told the purchase was for your own instruction. That is not a scandal. That is customer service, delivered at a $20 million scale most families simply cannot match.

The watchdog group Common Cause brought the suit, which is the kind of name that makes you trust the outcome before you read a word of it. A coalition joined. The Los Angeles Times reported the order took effect immediately, the way a restraining order does, with the particular urgency of a man pulling a plug while the machine is still warm.

WHAT THE ADS TAUGHT AMERICANS

  • Communism: a threat, presented in the President's own words, at taxpayer rates.
  • History: a rerun of a campaign ad from a campaign that already happened, so you would not be confused.
  • Gratitude: the single most valuable lesson, and the one the court has now, regrettably, taken off the table.

Some will call the ruling a blow to the administration’s message. That reading misses the generosity at the center of it. The President has always insisted the taxpayer is the boss. The court simply held him to it. If you are the boss, you do not have to listen to the employee complimenting himself on your dime, and now, finally, you do not have to.

A department spokesperson said the team was reviewing other formats. The President has long been fond of the podcast.