Trump uses stock footage from a Ukrainian agency in his new “Mourning in America” campaign ad
Donald Trump’s campaign has used dramatic stock footage of a Ukrainian man hiding from shelling to depict Americans living in their parents’ basements.
In an attack ad released Wednesday, Trump criticized Biden for his management of inflation and for making the point by using stock footage from Ukraine.
A clip in the ad shows a man sitting in a dimly lit basement, while a voiceover suggests that young Americans are unable to buy homes because of inflation.
But the person in the video is actually a Ukrainian man sheltering in a basement in Zaporizhzhya after the country was invaded by Russia last year.
Another video, which shows a young couple unable to negotiate a house purchase with a real estate agent, is also Ukrainian, but captured in Lviv, western Ukraine, before the 2021 war.
Donald Trump’s campaign has used stock footage of a Ukrainian man hiding from shelling to portray an American who can’t afford a home in a campaign ad released Wednesday
Another clip in the ad shows a young couple unable to negotiate a house purchase with an estate agent. The Ukrainian creator of the video said he preferred the footage not to have been used for the case
The videos appeared in an ad titled “Mourning in America” and also criticize Biden for his management of the border, the withdrawal from Afghanistan and trans issues.
“Under Biden’s unprecedented inflation, homeownership hopes have vanished. And young adults who have been forced to stop seeking the American dream of living longer in their parents’ basement,” the ad reads before playing the Ukrainian footage.
The creator of the video that showed the couple shopping for a house said he would rather not have his content used to boost Trump’s campaign.
“I can only say bad things about Trump,” the creator of the video, who asked not to be named to avoid jeopardizing his relationship with his stock photo provider. told the New York Post.
“Unfortunately, anyone can buy our or any other video… I have no control over it,” he added. “I wouldn’t want him to use the video in his ad. But rules are rules.’
Yevhen Shkolenko, owner of the production company responsible for the basement footage, told the Post the video is intended to show a man coping with the invasion of Ukraine and not an American man who owns his own home. can’t pay.
“This video was shot 100 percent in Ukraine during the war in a really sheltered basement, which is 40 miles (25 km) from the front line,” Shkolenko said.
“We were one of those who stayed in our town to help people and the military and we continued our film work and when we were filming we often went to the basement to hide from rocket fire.”
He said he was not “deeply aware” of US politics, but was grateful for the US military assistance Ukraine has received.
“Among my friends in America there are supporters of both Trump and Biden… [I] just want to be nice to all Americans who support us every day,” he said.
Dramatic stock footage of this man in a cellar was presented as an American in his parents’ cellar, but the video was actually filmed in Ukraine after the Russian invasion of Ukraine – 40 kilometers from the front line
Other dramatic images in the ad show hordes of people at the southern border
The ad also blamed Biden for the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, which left millions of dollars worth of military equipment behind.
Other dramatic images in the ad show hordes of people at the southern border, with the narrator saying, “Thanks to Joe Biden, our borders are now wide open to anyone who comes.”
The next issue addressed in the minute-long video relates to trans women’s involvement in women’s sports and “schools free of parental involvement.”
“Biden opposes banning boys from participating in girls’ sports,” reads the text above more stock video of women lining up to run on a track.
The video also takes the opportunity to mock Biden for his blunders, showing clips of videos in which he tumbled down the stairs and fell onto a bicycle.
The video was released hours before Trump appeared at a CNN town hall Wednesday afternoon, saying he could end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours if elected president.
Despite using the Ukrainian video, the short campaign ad made no mention of the war in Ukraine.
DailyMail.com wrote to the Donald Trump campaign about the stock footage, but didn’t immediately hear back.