President Barack Obama‘s spokesperson Katie Hill is calling an advertisement “despicable’ as Obama’s attorney’s issue a cease-and-desist letter to have a pro-Trump group’s advertisement pulled.
According to CNN, Obama’s legal team alleges that the ad, which attacks former Vice President Joe Biden (D) includes elements from Obama’s book that have been taken “out of context,” as Hill says.
During the ad, excerpts from Obama’s audiobook “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance” are played.
The ad, which reportedly aired this week in South Carolina ahead of the Democratic primary scheduled for February 29, is being criticized because it reportedly uses Obama’s voice to promote “plantation politics.”
Obama’s spokeswoman Katie Hill has released a statement in rebuke of the ad and cited the unauthorized use of Obama’s voice.
She also alleged that the ad was “clearly designed to suppress turnout among minority voters in South Carolina” by “twisting” Obama’s words.
“This despicable ad is straight out of the Republican disinformation playbook, and it’s clearly designed to suppress turnout among minority voters in South Carolina by taking President Obama’s voice out of context and twisting his words to mislead viewers.”
The letter closed with a reiterated demand that the ad be pulled from all television stations and social media platforms.
“To this end, the Committee to Defend the President must immediately remove this ad from its Facebook page and any other social media platform or website and must refrain from airing this ad in any form or medium in the future. Further, the Committee to Defend the President must agree on behalf of itself and all affiliated entities to refrain from future misuse of President Obama’s intellectual property or right of publicity.”
Additionally, Biden’s campaign spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement, “Donald Trump and his allies are absolutely terrified that Joe Biden will defeat him in November. Trump even got himself impeached by trying to force another country to lie about the vice president.”
Bates added, “This latest intervention in the Democratic primary is one of the most desperate yet, a despicable torrent of misinformation by the president’s lackeys.”