US President Donald Trump’s latest attack ad depicts former Vice President Joe Biden as isolated and alone, “diminished” and “hiding” in a basement at his Delaware home.
But as sharp observers noted on Twitter, the images were heavily manipulated ― and the one of him “alone” and “in his basement” was actually taken in a room full of people (pre-pandemic) that was neither in a basement nor even in his home.
Here’s the Trump ad:
The image of Biden sitting on the floor “alone” and “hiding” was actually from a football-watching party in Iowa. The background was manipulated to make it look as if Biden were sitting on the floor of an empty room:
Another image was of Biden at an outdoor event, in sunglasses and with a mic in hand. The original shows him pause to scratch his head or adjust the sunglasses, but the Trump campaign altered it to remove the mic and place him in a “basement.”
They also gave him pale and sickly skin:
And in another case, they isolated an image of Biden with his head down and in prayer at a church to make him appear down and dejected: