Trump Campaign Sues Wisconsin TV Station Over Critical Ad

President Donald Trump's reelection campaign is suing a Wisconsin TV station for running an anti-Trump commercial that pieces together audio clips of the president talking about the coronavirus outbreak in a way they argue is misleading and false. The ad by the Democratic super PAC Priorities USA features a series of soundbites in which Trump downplayed the threat posed by the virus, while a chart that is splashed across the screen gradually begins to shoot upward as cases of the virus skyrocketed across the US. The lawsuit, filed by the Trump campaign in Wisconsin state court, alleges the ad splices together the clips in a way that makes it appear as though the president said the virus was a “hoax.” Trump's campaign argues that the president did not call the virus itself a “hoax," but was instead referring to Democrats who have politicized his handling of it. The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial.

The threat of legal action could prompt TV stations to avoid running advertisements that are critical of President Trump in the midst of a contentious presidential campaign.