The Interior secretary shared a video hailing Trump's 'historic feats.' Critics called it 'propagand [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Washington Post

The Interior secretary shared a video hailing Trump’s ‘historic feats.’ Critics called it ‘propaganda.’

By
Timothy Bella
Oct. 28, 2020 at 3:57 a.m. CDT

Over a bouncy tune, the video flashes stunning images of birds, mountains and plains over text hailing President Trump for "preserving the awesome majesty of God’s great creation.” It was shared Tuesday evening on the official Twitter account of Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who suggested it celebrated Trump’s “historic feats of conservation.”

. . .

“This is a propaganda video created with your tax dollars meant to bolster the President’s chances of being re-elected,” tweeted Tim Fullerton, who was director of digital strategy for the Interior Department during the Obama administration. “This is way outside the lines.”

Fullerton was among the critics on Tuesday night who accused Bernhardt and the Interior Department of using agency resources to promote a video supporting Trump’s reelection in violation of the Hatch Act, an anti-corruption law Congress passed in 1939.

The Interior Department didn’t immediately respond to a message from The Washington Post about the video late on Tuesday. On Twitter, the department’s press secretary responded to Fullerton by claiming the agency had “increased the number ethics staff by 250% to remove the rotten stench from the blatant failure of the prior administration to invest in the ethics program.”



Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/28/trump-video-interior-department-bernhardt-election/