A controversial video mocking former President Barack Obama’s endorsement of Joe Biden that was shared by President Trump was removed by Twitter in response to a copyright complaint.
Trump’s tweet of the video remains, but the video within it is no longer available.
The video used bootleg footage from an Allstate commercial featuring company spokesman Dennis Haysbert watching a college basketball game with friends. In the original ad, Haysbert appears onscreen in an Allstate commercial pitching insurance, and his friends ask him to change the channel, which he does, encountering another Allstate ad that he again appears in. “Not another commercial,” his friend says.
In the video shared by Trump, Obama’s head is superimposed over Haysbert’s, and instead of watching an Allstate commercial, a fake Biden campaign ad starts to play when the basketball game cuts to commercials.
“The kids used to come up and reach in the pool and rub my leg down so it was straight and then watch the hair come back up again,” Biden said in the fake ad. “I learned about kids jumping on my lap, and I loved kids jumping on my lap.”
The spoof uses footage of the former vice president speaking in 2017 about his time as a lifeguard at a Delaware pool.
The video then cuts to Obama, superimposed over Haysbert, shrugging to his friends and asking, “What?” as they stare back at him.
It features the 1996 song “Let Me Clear My Throat,” by DJ Kool, who protested its use in a now-deleted Instagram post telling supporters that his management was addressing the issue.
The video earned nearly 15 million views after Trump shared it on Monday, eclipsing the number reached by Obama’s actual endorsement video, which got 10.4 million.
The White House had no comment.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 20, 2020
