Trump Reelection Campaign Files Lawsuit Against Wisconsin TV Station For Anti-Trump Ad

KEY POINTS

The Trump reelection campaign filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin's circuit court against TV station WJFW for an anti-Trump ad it ran
The campaign alleges Democratic super PAC Priorities USA edited soundbites together in a way that misleads viewers about Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic
Trump's campaign is seeking damages to be determined at trial

President Trump's reelection campaign filed a lawsuit Monday in Wisconsin court against a television station that ran an anti-Trump advertisement about the COVID-19 pandemic.

The commercial in question, which was put together by the Democratic super PAC Priorities USA, featured a series of soundbites of Trump downplaying the severity of the virus. These are played against a chart that tracks the explosion of coronavirus cases in the U.S.

It was aired by NBC-affiliate WJFW in Rhinelander. The station had no comment.

Trump’s campaign argues that the ad is misleading because it cuts the audio together to make it appear he was calling COVID-19 a “hoax.” They argue he was actually referring to the Democrats at the state and federal level that were trying to politicize his handling of the outbreak.

“The advertisement ... does not just contain false and defamatory statements about President Trump — it is far more insidious and, ultimately, far more dangerous,” the lawsuit said. “The advertisement was produced through the use of digital technology by taking audio clips from Trump Campaign events and piecing those clips together to manufacture a blatantly false statement that was never said by President Trump.”

Trump’s campaign filed the lawsuit at the Wisconsin Circuit Court in Price County and is seeking damages that would be determined at trial.

Priorities USA pushed back against the lawsuit, saying the ad shows how President Trump downplayed the severity of the virus by using his own words.

“This is pretty simple. Donald Trump doesn’t want voters to hear the truth and he’s trying to bully TV stations into submission,” Priorities USA Chairman Guy Cecil told the Associated Press.

“The truth is that Trump ignored warnings from experts and his own team and downplayed the coronavirus even as it spread unchecked across the country and the world. Americans are now suffering as a result of his inaction. We will never stop airing the facts and holding the president accountable for his actions.”