The re-election campaign of President Donald Trump is suing the largest political organization supporting Democratic rival and former Vice President Joe Biden, claiming it produced a television advertisement that misrepresents the president's remarks about the novel coronavirus.
The lawsuit against Super PAC Priorities USA Action in U.S. District Court in Wisconsin comes more than two months after the Trump campaign sued WJFW, an NBC network affiliate in the state which aired the commercial 37 times over 11 days beginning March 25.
The Trump campaign also has threatened lawsuits against stations in other states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Florida, from running it.
The latest lawsuit claims Priorities USA "knowingly and intentionally" took audio clips from a South Carolina rally Feb. 28 and manipulated them to make it seem that Trump was dismissive of the dangers posed by the coronavirus. The Hill reported.
"It is abundantly clear that Priorities USA supported fabricated digital content in a flagrant attempt to defame President Trump and a desperate attempt to save Joe Biden's sinking campaign," The Hill quoted Trump campaign legal adviser Jenna Ellis as saying. "As a result of these intentionally deceitful actions, the Trump campaign is using the force of law to end circulation of these erroneous and defamatory ads."
Priorities USA did not respond to The Hill seeking comment.
The advertisement shows a graph of the rising number of confirmed novel coronavirus infections rising in the United States over a picture of Trump and his voice in the background saying, "The coronavirus . . . this is their new hoax."
At the rally, Trump compared the Democratic Party's attacks against him on the novel coronavirus to their criticism of him during their impeachment drive.
"Now the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus, you know that right? Coronavirus, they're politicizing it," Trump said. "One of my people came up to me and said, 'Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia.'
"That didn't work out too well. They couldn't do it. They tried the impeachment hoax. That was on a perfect conversation. They tried anything. They tried it over and over. They'd been doing it since you got in. It's all turning. They lost. It's all turning. Think of it. Think of it. And this is their new hoax."
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