Trump Digital Ad Campaign Featured Russian Jets & Weapons

Moments after President Donald Trump delivered ceremonial remarks at a 9/11 anniversary commemoration in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, one of his digital campaign ads caused an intense backlash. It read “support our troops” but featured a stock photo of Russian-made fighter jets and weapons.

“When terrorists raced to destroy the seat of our democracy, the 40 of Flight 93 did the most American of things—they took a vote, and then they acted.

Together they charged the cockpit, they confronted the pure evil, and in their last act on this earth, they saved our capital.” pic.twitter.com/U0JVIqbQfM

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 11, 2020

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Immediately deleted after the mistake was uncovered, the picture is still available online.

A Trump ad on supporting our troops uses a photo of Russian-made fighter jets and weapons. “‘That’s definitely a MiG-29,’ said Pierre Sprey, who helped design the F-16 and A-10 planes for the U.S. Air Force. ‘I’m glad to see it’s supporting our troops.'”https://t.co/NENKYI3qeP

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) September 15, 2020

In the photo, which marked the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, designers used a stock photo with a Russian MiG-29 fighter jets and AK-74 machine guns.

The Trump ad also featured an “American” soldier bearing arms, holding a tilted down AK-74, which is a Soviet-issued military-grade weapon, while “Support Our Troops” splashed across the photo’s center.

The soldiers in Trump’s “Support Our Troops” ad were neither American nor troops. https://t.co/tjAfjVjm8b pic.twitter.com/fRrLNd02QH

— Kendall Brown (@kendallybrown) September 15, 2020

The image’s creator, Arthur Zakirov, confirmed for journalists that the image featured 3D models of the MiG-29. https://t.co/Ustb6FVPXr

— snopes.com (@snopes) September 15, 2020

The news comes as Trump has been attacked for remaining silent amid reports of a GRU military operation, in which Russia incentivized Taliban-linked Afghan militants with cash bounties to kill U.S. troops.

The president has repeatedly denied knowing anything about the Taliban killings, claiming that neither he nor any top White House officials had been briefed on the finding.

Intel just reported to me that they did not find this info credible, and therefore did not report it to me or @VP. Possibly another fabricated Russia Hoax, maybe by the Fake News @nytimesbooks, wanting to make Republicans look bad!!! https://t.co/cowOmP7T1S

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2020