Zelenskiy wants 'political invitation' for Ukraine to join NATO
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Six Mississippi officers plead guilty to torturing 2 Black men
By Brad Brooks and Kanishka Singh Six white former Mississippi law enforcement officers pleaded guilty on Thursday to
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Trump campaign uses footage from Ukraine in attempt to depict Americans suffering from rising housing costs
The Trump campaign used stock footage of a man sitting in a basement, claiming that it was an American unable to afford a home while it was actually filmed in Ukraine 25 miles from the frontline. The dramatic footage shows a man working on his laptop as he shelters from the shelling of the Russian invasion in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine last year, according to the New York Post. In the ad released on Wednesday, the Trump campaign slammed President Joe Biden for the effect inflation has had on Americans during his time in the White House. To make this argument, instead of using footage of Americans, the Trump campaign used footage from Ukraine, showing the man sitting in a basement as a voiceover claims that young Americans can’t buy homes because of high inflation. Another piece of stock footage used in the video shows a young couple seemingly walking away from a real estate agent. That clip was also filmed in Ukraine, in Lviv, in the western part of the country in 2021 before the war began in February of last year. The Trump campaign ad was entitled Mourning in America and criticised Mr Biden for his handling of the southern US border, the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, as well as trans issues. As the footage from Ukraine can be seen, the voiceover states: “Under Biden’s unprecedented inflation, the hope of home ownership gone. And young adults, forced to abandon seeking the American dream to live in their parents’ basement longer.” The man behind the footage showing the couple failing to purchase a home told the New York Post that he “can only say bad things about Trump”. The creator said he didn’t want to be identified to avoid affecting his relationship with his stock footage vendor. “But unfortunately, anyone can buy our or another video … I can’t control it,” he told the paper. “I wouldn’t want him to use [the] video in his ad. But rules are rules.” Yevhen Shkolenko owns the company that filmed the footage in the basement in Zaporizhzhya. He told the Post that the man in the footage is an actor but shows what Ukrainians have to deal with as air sirens ring out to warn of an incoming strike by the Russians. “This video was made 100 per cent in Ukraine during war in real sheltered basement in my city Zaporizhzhya, which is 40 km (25 miles) [from the] frontline,” Mr Shkolenko told the paper. “We were one of those who stayed in our city to help people and the army and we continued our work of filming and when we were doing this filming, we went down to the basement many times in order to hide from rocket fire.” The Trump campaign released the attack ad shortly before Donald Trump appeared on CNN for a town hall event that was widely criticised for giving a platform for the former president to spout a litany of lies. During the town hall event in front of a friendly audience, Mr Trump claimed that he would be able to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours after re-entering the Oval Office on 20 January 2025 simply by speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he refused to call a war criminal. Mr Trump also refused to say if he wanted Ukraine to be victorious, instead arguing that he wanted the fighting to cease, adding that calling someone a war criminal might be detrimental to a possible peace process. A former Trump official who worked on his re-election campaign in 2020 told the Post that “as president, Trump bragged about the billions of dollars worth of weapons and aid he sent to Zelensky in Ukraine. Now he’s paying for stock footage from Ukraine to depict the American Dream in his lame campaign ads? What a joke”. The Independent has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment. Read More The danger of America’s ageing politicians The two-word slur that tells us everything we need to know about Donald Trump Trump news – live: Trump defends CNN ratings as E Jean Carroll threatens to sue him again over ‘vile’ remarks The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary
2023-05-12 22:25
India’s Frequent Internet Shutdowns Hurt Its Most Vulnerable
India’s frequent and arbitrary internet shutdowns hurt its most impoverished, who depend on government social protection programs, according
2023-06-14 10:49
Joe Rogan highlights 'great things and drawbacks' about podcasts during recent 'JRE' episode: 'It feels gross'
Joe Rogan's podcast 'The Joe Rogan Experience' has featured interviews with notable figures and comedians
2023-10-15 17:28
Michigan's Jim Harbaugh says he would take less salary if it meant college athletes would be paid
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is ready to put his money where his mouth is if it means college football players and other athletes would be paid
2023-11-27 06:59
Man pleads guilty to smuggling-related charges over Texas deaths of 53 migrants in tractor-trailer
One of six men charged in Texas over 53 migrants who died last year in a sweltering tractor-trailer has pleaded guilty to smuggling-related charges
2023-09-28 07:59
U.N. meeting debates aviation emissions goal through cleaner fuels
By Allison Lampert (Reuters) -Global aviation officials on Friday sought to agree an interim target for cutting carbon emissions from
2023-11-24 22:54
Russia tests digital ruble in bid to bypass sanctions
Russia began testing its new digital ruble with consumers on Tuesday, in the hope blockchain technology will help it evade sanctions and...
2023-08-16 08:27
Notorious FBI double-agent Robert Hanssen dead
Robert Hanssen, the notorious FBI double agent who secretly fed Russia some of America's deepest secrets in the 1980s and 1990s, died in a top-security...
2023-06-06 08:52
Record crowds are expected to take to the air and roads for Thanksgiving
Millions of people are expected to hit airports and highways in record numbers over the Thanksgiving holiday
2023-11-21 13:56
Soaring Housing Costs Could Spell ‘Disastrous’ Political Consequences for Trudeau
The soaring cost of Canada’s housing has become a major political problem for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as
2023-08-02 20:58
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