WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress have urged the President Donald Trump to include the hashtag “#Ad” when promoting any private businesses following recent tweets by the president that many considered endorsements for Goya Foods.
“It is time we put our foot down,” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, said in a press conference on Capitol Hill this morning. “President Trump’s behavior is an abuse of his office. No elected official in this country should be using their position to promote private businesses without clearly labeling such promotions using the hashtag ‘#ad’. We hope this transparency creates a stronger sense of trust between the President and his followers.”
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden cited Trump’s behavior as not only unethical, but illegal.
“According to the United States Office of Government Ethics, ‘An employee shall not use his public office for his own private gain, for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity,’” stated Biden. “What the president is doing is in clear violation of this policy. While this could be grounds for a second impeachment proceeding, we’d all be willing to compromise if Trump would just use one of these hash-a-ma-call-its.”
In addition to violating federal ethics laws, tweeting endorsements without including the hashtag #Ad also violates standard guidelines for brand ambassadors and social media influencers, both of which are positions Donald Trump still holds in addition to President.
“We use #Ad to ensure that a partnership between a brand and an influencer will not be perceived as a simple sharing of information,” explained filmmaker and internet personality Zach King. “It’s important for influencers to be clear when the content we share is the promotion of a product or service through a paid agreement. Democrats are just pointing out that it only makes sense for Trump to be held to the same standard as other influencers.”
At press time, Speaker Pelosi regretfully confirmed to members of the press that Trump is just going to keep posting whatever he wants to and everyone will just have to deal with it.
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