WASHINGTON– Former President Barack Obama demanded South Carolina news stations and a pro-Trump group to stop running a misleading ad that misuses his voice to claim Joe Biden was his vice president.
Obama is accusing Republicans of trying to mislead voters into believing that Biden was his vice president for his two terms as president, which he says will definitely ruin Biden’s chance at becoming the Democrat nominee by having his name attached to Obama’s legacy.
The controversial ad, paid for by pro-Donald Trump group Defend the President, flashes numerous photos across the screen of Obama and Biden together inside the Oval Office bathroom, sitting next to each at a movie theater, and dining out at a local Washington pizzeria restaurant.
“Joe Biden was Barack Obama’s vice president for 8 years. It’s true. Here’s President Obama,” the ad begins before playing an audio of Obama laughing about how Biden is his second in command.
“Joe Biden is my vice president,” Obama said with a chuckle in the ad. “Imagine if the black community ever finds this one out.”
Reputable fact-checking site Politifact found that the ad audio was actually taken from Obama’s 1995 memoir Dreams From My Vice President, 13 years before Obama served his first term, proving that he could not have been referring to Biden.
An Obama spokeswoman told USA TODAY NOT TOMORROW that not only is the audio fake, but the photos of Obama and Biden together in the White House for 8 years are photoshopped.
“This despicable ad is straight out of the Republican disinformation handbook,” the spokeswoman explained. “This ad’s clearly designed to suppress turnout among minority voters in South Carolina by thinking President Obama would choose an old white man as his running mate.”
Everyone knows Corn Pop was Obama’s real VP.