Trump administration cancels Covid-19 celebrity ad campaign
Source: Politico
Democrats claimed the ad campaign was a “thinly-veiled propaganda” effort to boost Trump.
By DAN DIAMOND
11/17/2020 08:16 PM EST
The Health and Human Services department has scrapped a planned ad campaign featuring celebrities discussing Covid-19, a senior HHS official told a congressional oversight panel in a letter shared with POLITICO.
The abandoned $15 million contract with Atlas Research, part of a larger $300 million taxpayer-funded campaign aimed at "defeating despair" over the pandemic, was conceived by a close political ally of President Donald Trump this summer. It was met with outrage from Democratic lawmakers, who charged it was an attempt to boost lagging public opinion of Trump's coronavirus response ahead of the election.
Following the outcry, HHS commissioned an internal review, with input from career civil servants, about whether the campaign met public health goals. HHS concluded the Atlas contract should be canceled, but it found the broader awareness campaign could continue.
"The review has been completed," Sarah Arbes, the HHS assistant secretary for legislation, wrote on Friday to Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), who chairs the House Oversight subcommittee on consumer and economic policy. "The work with members of the entertainment industry conducted by Atlas Research will not continue and that contract will be canceled."
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/17/trump-cancels-covid-ads-437183
= new reply since forum marked as read
My first smile of the early morning! I seem to be doing a lot of that lately. Listening to Brian Williams call Trump,” Mad King George!”
trumpy loves to spend other peoples money
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/17/trump-cancels-covid-ads-437183
Democrats applauded the administration's decision to cancel the contract, calling it a "thinly-veiled propaganda campaign to try to help President Trump politically."
“We are pleased that following our investigation, HHS finally pulled the plug on this corrupt scheme," House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), coronavirus select panel chair Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Krishnamoorthi said in a joint statement. "Accurate, reliable information must be a critical part of the federal government’s coronavirus response and should not be tainted by inappropriate political messaging."
HHS and Atlas did not respond to questions about whether the $15 million in taxpayer funds would be recouped. Caputo took medical leave in September and has referred questions about the campaign to HHS.
