Trump Airs Another Campaign Ad At Briefing, Produced By White House Staff

@jeisrael
Trump Airs Another Campaign Ad At Briefing, Produced By White House Staff

Donald Trump used time during his regular COVID-19 briefing on Monday to play a campaign ad for himself. Trump said that the video had been put together by White House staff — a possible violation of federal law regulating the election activities of federal employees.

Under fire for downplaying the coronavirus' risk and doing little to prepare for the pandemic, Trump made reporters watch what was effectively a campaign ad. "We have a few clips that we're just going to put up," he said, before playing a video containing clips organized and edited to blame the media for minimizing the threat of the pandemic and tout Trump's response.


After the video was over, ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl asked about its origins.

"I've never seen a video like that played in this room. It looks a bit like a campaign ad. Who produced that video for you?" he asked.

"That was done by a group in the office. And it was done by — we just put some clips together," Trump replied. He claimed that it was done "over the last two hours" by White House social media director Dan Scavino "and a group of people" to correct "fake news." Trump bragged that he had "far better" clips that had not been included.

Media Matters noted that much of the video's content was "directly lifted" from the March 26 episode of Sean Hannity's Fox News show.

Trump WH staff ad 4-13-20 from Shareblue Media on Vimeo

Both CNN and MSNBC cut away from their coverage of the briefing during the campaign video.

Democrats accused Trump of using taxpayer money for partisan purposes. "Trump used your money to produce a campaign ad, then used time reserved to update you on COVID-19 to air that ad," the Democratic National Committee charged in a tweet on Monday night.

Some observers suggested after the briefing that the staff's work producing the spot could constitute a violation of the Hatch Act, a federal law that limits federal employees' work on political campaigns. The Trump administration has frequently violated that law.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

Advertising

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

Speaker Capitulates To Greene And Far Right On Biden Impeachment Inquiry
Reps. Lauren Boebert, center, and Marjorie Taylor Green, foreground, on Capitol steps

House Republicans are moving toward a vote on a formal impeachment inquiry as they continue to allege, without evidence, serious corruption on the part of President Joe Biden. The evidence has not gotten stronger since mid-November, when House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly told so-called Republican moderates that there was “insufficient evidence” to move forward. The politics, however, have changed. Johnson’s move to keep the government from shutting down angered some extremist Republicans, and the expulsion of George Santos just after Johnson declared his opposition to expulsion did not make Johnson look any stronger. Giving the extremists a vote on an impeachment inquiry is an easy way for Johnson to try to shore up support.

Keep reading...Show less
Mike Johnson

Speaker Mike Johnson

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is set to receive an award and speak at the National Association of Christian Lawmakers annual meeting and awards gala alongside a range of right-wing media figures who have pushed extreme anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion, and Christian nationalist rhetoric.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}