The Trump campaign on Monday filed a lawsuit against a Wisconsin TV station, saying it aired a pro-Biden advertisement containing the intentionally false claim that the president referred to the coronavirus as a “hoax.”
The lawsuit against WJFW of Rhinelander, an NBC affiliate, follows a cease-and-desist letter from the campaign over the ad produced by Priorities USA, a super PAC supporting the candidacy of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden.
The lawsuit says the ad used digitally manipulated clips of Mr. Trump’s voice to fabricate him saying, “The coronavirus, this is their new hoax.”
“As is clear from his full remarks, President Trump was referring to the Democrats’ politicization of the coronavirus crisis and likening it to their reaction to the Mueller Russia hoax and the sham impeachment. He has never said that the virus itself was a hoax,” the campaign said.
Campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis said the defamation lawsuit “helps ensure that news outlets are accountable to viewers, who should be able to trust the accuracy and truth of content aired to the public.”
