Attorneys for former President Obama are sending a cease-and-desist letter demanding that South Carolina broadcast stations stop airing a misleading ad from a pro-Donald Trump super PAC that makes it sound like Obama is criticizing his former vice president, Joe Biden.
The ad is part of $250,000 in spending by The Committee to Defend the President. It misuses a snippet from an audio version of Mr. Obama’s book “Dreams from My Father” to make it sound as though Obama is criticizing Biden’s support of the black community. He’s actually recalling complaints he’s heard about politicians generally.
“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,” said Obama spokeswoman Katie Hill in a statement.
The statement said Mr. Obama’s office is asking TV stations to pull the ad “and stop playing into the hands of bad actors who seek to sow division and confusion among the electorate.”
South Carolina’s primary is Saturday.
