October 12, 2020

Top general did not give his consent to be used in Trump political ad

Source: POLITICO

Journalist: Lara Seligman

President Donald Trump's campaign is running an online political ad that uses an image of his vice president, his Pentagon chief and his most senior military adviser watching the raid on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi from the Situation Room on Oct. 29, 2019.

"President Trump wants you to request your ballot," the ad says. Clicking on the ad, which includes the tagline "Paid for by Donald J. Trump for President, Inc," leads to the Trump campaign's voter sign-up page.

But the campaign didn't seek approval from Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley to use his image in the ad, a defense official said. “This photo, like many others, was not used with [Milley's] knowledge or consent,” said the official, who requested anonymity to speak about a sensitive topic.

Read the full story and more from POLITICO.

Author

  • ​Jim Golby

    Former Adjunct Senior Fellow, Clements Center for National Security, The University of Texas at Austin

    Jim Golby is a former Adjunct Senior Fellow at CNAS. Jim received his Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University and a B.S. in American Government from the United Sta...