Skip to content

Philadelphia Crossing Guard Goes To Town On Ice Cream Cone While Describing Truck Crash On TV—And Becomes An Instant Icon

Search AI Powered
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

Pro-Trump SuperPac Is Using Barack Obama's Words to Slam Joe Biden in New Ad and Obama Just Fired Back

Pro-Trump SuperPac Is Using Barack Obama's Words to Slam Joe Biden in New Ad and Obama Just Fired Back
Committee to Defend the President
Evan Brechtel
By Evan BrechtelFeb 27, 2020
Evan Brechtel
Evan Brechtel is a writer and actor living in New York. A Fordham University graduate, he also writes a monthly column for Chosen Magazine and is currently working on a historical fiction novel about New York queer bars over the twentieth century.
See Full Bio

Faced with a crowded Democratic primary field and a range of ideas on how best to move the country forward, former President Barack Obama has taken careful steps not to reveal which candidate he hopes to see take on President Donald Trump in November.

While Obama has yet to endorse anyone, he recently warned a pro-Trump super PAC that he doesn't want his likeness or words used to tarnish his former Vice President, 2020 candidate Joe Biden.

The ad, made by The Committee to Defend the President, takes words from Obama's audiobook Dreams from My Father: a Story of Race and Inheritance, in a passage mentioning "plantation politics" and Democrats who take Black voters for granted.

Dreams from My Father was published in 2005, but the ad is framed to imply that Obama is discussing his former Vice President.

Watch below.

Obama's lawyers soon issued a cease and desist letter to the super PAC, writing:

"This unauthorized use of President Obama's name, image, likeness, voice and book passage is clearly intended to mislead the target audience of the ad into believing that the passage from the audiobook is a statement that was made by President Barack Obama during his presidency, when it was in fact made by a barber in a completely different context more than 20 years ago."

The letter goes on to warn:

"To this end, the Committee to Defend the President must immediately remove this ad ... further the Committee to Defend the President must agree on behalf of itself and all affiliated entities to refrain from future misuse of President Obama's intellectual property or right of publicity."

The ad is set to air across South Carolina, where Biden is currently leading and which has a large Black voting population.

People largely agreed that the tactics from the Committee to Defend the President were sleazy to say the least.







It's unclear whether or not the super PAC will pull the ads off the air, especially with the South Carolina primary only two days away.

It is, however, a sign of things to come as the 2020 election draws nearer.

For a Republican strategist's advice on how best to beat Trump, check out Running Against the Devil, available here.

Latest News

Steve Roth
Zohran Mamdani

Billionaire Real Estate Mogul Slammed After Claiming That Calls To 'Tax The Rich' Are Akin To Using Racial Slurs

Screenshot of Donald Trump
Donald Trump

Trump Was Just Asked About The Status Of The Hantavirus—And His Response Is Giving People Serious Déjà Vu

Barack Obama; Stephen Colbert
Donald Trump

Barack Obama Just Threw Some Epic Shade At Trump While Remarking On How Stephen Colbert Would Fare As President

Donald Trump
Viral Post

Photo Of Trump's Bruised Hands Both Caked In Heavy Makeup Goes Viral—And People Have Questions

More from People/donald-trump

Donald Trump holding photos of White House ballroom
Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images

CNN Just Used A Hilarious Poll To Show Just How Unpopular Trump's Ballroom Is—And We're Cackling

After President Donald Trump claimed that his new White House ballroom is "very popular" with the American public, CNN shared a hilariously shady poll that gets to the truth of the matter.

Last year, Trump ordered the demolition of the entire East Wing to make way for a 90,000 square-foot ballroom that will dwarf the size of the White House itself, sparking alarm from historical preservationists and the public alike.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @devynnehaddoxx's TikTok video
@devynnehaddoxx/TikTok

Woman In Labor Times How Long Her Husband Takes To Poop To See If She Can Push Their Baby Out Faster In Hilarious Viral Video

It's well-known across the internet that it takes forever for men to use the restroom. For dads especially, in the time it takes them to poop, when they return to the house, their kids will have aged seven years, and their baby will have learned to walk.

These are jokes, of course, but it's an internet consensus that men spend a really long time on the porcelain throne.

Keep ReadingShow less
David Letterman (left) has continued defending Stephen Colbert (right) as CBS faces backlash over canceling The Late Show.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images

David Letterman Rips 'Lying Weasels' At CBS For Claiming Colbert Was Canceled For Financial Reasons In Epic Takedown

David Letterman isn’t staying quiet about CBS canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. As Colbert’s run comes to an end later this month, the former late-night host is publicly challenging the network’s claim that the decision was purely financial.

Letterman, who hosted The Late Show from 1993 until stepping down in 2015, addressed the controversy during a new interview with New York Times journalist Jason Zinoman.

Keep ReadingShow less
Antonia Eastwood; Gemma Monk
Antonia Eastwood/MSN; Cover Images

Woman Speaks Out After Prison Sentence To Reveal What Led Her To Hurl Black Paint At Sister-In-Law On Her Wedding Day

In early 2024, 49-year-old Antonia Eastwood married Ashley Monk after about five months of dating. During the ceremony, Antonia tripped while walking down the aisle.

Antonia and Ashley were both suspicious that she did not trip accidentally and that Ashley's sister, Gemma, actually tripped her. Gemma and Antonia were not close, and the couple also believed that Gemma might be jealous that they were marrying after five months, though she'd been with her childhood sweetheart for 20 years without tying the knot.

Keep ReadingShow less
Billie Eilish on 'Good Hang'
Good Hang with Amy Poehler/YouTube

Billie Eilish's Refreshingly Blunt Take On Aging And 'Botched' Plastic Surgery Has Fans Nodding Hard

You know what they say: the grass is greener on the other side. Most people want something that they don't have.

While many people right now are fixated on appearing younger than their age, Billie Eilish—who already looks younger than her age—is looking forward to what comes next.

Keep ReadingShow less