With the United States election less than two weeks away, presidential campaign advertisements have been at their peak. Each candidate has put out ads presenting their ideas and asking for the support of the American people in their run for president. It is essential to each campaign that these ads draw the attention of the public if the candidates want to effectively convince citizens to vote in their favor. A recent Donald Trump campaign ad seems to have done just that. However, rather than bringing in the positive attention the ad was intended to, it seems to have created controversy instead.

The recent ad in question created a stir as a result of a quote that was included in the video. This quote came from Dr. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases. In the clip, he stated, “I can not imagine that anybody could be doing more.”

In the context of the ad, the quote was intended to seem as if Dr. Fauci was praising Trump for his efforts in combating the virus. However, this quote was taken from an interview in which Dr. Fauci never even mentioned the president. But, since the quote was taken out of its original context, it appeared as though he were endorsing the president.

“Transparent elections are essential to democracy. If voters are receiving misinformation on a candidate, it can lead them to make a misguided decision on their ballot. It is crucial that presidential campaign ads be truthful so that the American people can vote for whom they truly think is fit for office,” senior Samantha Gazda said.

Dr. Fauci never consented to have his quote inserted into the video, so it seems he was unaware of this campaign ad until it was already made public. This became one of the main points of contention.

However, many supporters of the current president came to Trump’s defense, claiming that he did not do anything wrong. Some have argued that the interview from which the quote was taken was available to the public. Therefore, the quote was free to be used by anyone regardless of whether or not it was referenced in a misleading way.

After serving under six different presidents, Dr. Fauci never endorsed a campaign. So, when his quote was included in the ad, it was quite shocking, especially to Fauci himself. After finding out that his words were being taken out of context in order to imply support, Dr. Fauci did not seem pleased.

Therefore, after seeing the ad his immediate reaction was to request for it to be taken down. However, the ad has not yet been fully removed. So far, some websites that the clip was shared on seem to have respected his wishes and removed the ad while others have kept it up.

Not only has Dr. Fauci never endorsed a presidential candidate, but he also promotes social distancing and the adherence to the very Centers for Disease Control guidelines that Trump so often ignores. The president has often been seen without a mask and violating social distancing practices.

After testing positive for COVID-19, the fact that Trump contracted the virus proves that proper precautions for his health were not being taken. Especially after that situation, Fauci would most likely disapprove of the Commander in Chief’s behavior during the pandemic.

Overall, there seems to be a common pattern when it comes to the Trump campaign’s strategies. Most of his advertisements do not provide information on his campaign and what he plans to do if reelected. The majority have been criticized for being misleading or are focused on attacking his competition.

For example, Trump recently released an advertisement directed at Black Americans. This video illustrates all the things he claims to have done for the Black community. However, during the presidential debate, when asked to condemn White supremacists, he told the Proud Boys to stand by. Many argue that the ideas his ads promote are contradictory to his actions.

“Presidential candidates just need to bring the focus back to themselves at the end of the day. They need to show visually what they would do to help the American people,” senior Hanna Ebrahimi said.

It seems that with the upcoming election and the different forms of media being used by candidates for promotions, Americans must be aware of what is reality and what is false information. Making sure the information that is received on a candidate is reliable and accurate is an important step in ensuring that one is voting for the person that best represents and aligns with their views. This ensures that people’s vote is not cast on falsehoods.