HHS ad blitz sputters as celebrities back away

[ZiprHead]

The $300 million, taxpayer-funded campaign to tout the administration’s response to Covid-19 falls behind schedule amid widespread criticism.

They made a list of more than 30 celebrities including Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift and Billy Joel to appear in their ad campaign to "inspire hope" about coronavirus, but they ended up with only Dennis Quaid, CeCe Winans and Hasidic singer Shulem Lemmer.

The health department’s $300 million-plus, taxpayer-funded vehicle to boost confidence in President Donald Trump’s response to the pandemic is sputtering. Celebrities are refusing to participate, and staff are arraying against it. Some complain of the unstated aim of helping Trump’s re-election. Others point to an ill-prepared video team and a 22-year-old political appointee who has repeatedly asserted control despite having no public health expertise, according to six people with close knowledge of the campaign and documents related to its operations.

Interviews with participants and others in the Health and Human Services Department paint a picture of a chaotic effort, scrambling to meet an unofficial Election Day deadline, floundering in the wake of the medical leave of its architect, Michael Caputo, and running up against increasing resistance among career staff.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Clearly Trumpo and his cronies are using a lot of taxpayer money to engage in biased campaign propaganda. It's probably illegal but nothing will come of it.

 

[funinspace]

Maybe they could get Chuck Norris (just be ready to hit the mute if contrails come up) and Ted Nugent to join the hit parade...

 

[Keith&Co.]

Can't they get Clint Eastwood to stand next to a ventilator and pretend to talk to a Trump Rally attendee?

 

[ZiprHead]

So now we're subsidizing bonespurs campaign. Sweet!

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So now we're subsidizing bonespurs campaign. Sweet!

Well, the DoJ is acting as his defense attorney in a defamation suit, so why not?

 

[thebeave]

Well, this sucks. And if the celebrities are bailing out, that's good enough for me. As Homer Simposon once said, "Celebrities...is there anything they don't know?"