The video was originally posted by President Donald Trump and takes aim at Biden (the frontrunner in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary) and his son Hunter over what Republicans have claimed were illicit business dealings in Ukraine.
The clip begins with footage of Biden saying he never discussed his son’s business relationship with the foreign country. Then the video cuts to the 2005 Nickelback music video for their single “Photograph” during which the band’s lead singer Chad Kroeger holds a picture frame up to the camera. But in the Trump edit, the photograph is altered to show the Bidens on a golf course with a Ukrainian gas executive.
The meme was originally posted to the president’s Twitter account but it was removed hours later due to copyright infringement, making it the second time this year Trump has violated copyright laws on the social media site. But that didn’t stop Trump Jr. from resharing the video on his own account.
“Not sure why Twitter wouldn’t want you to ‘Look at this Photograph,’” Trump Jr. wrote. It’s likely that Trump Jr. is also violating copyright laws, but no action has been taken so far by Twitter.
Trump’s attempt to shift focus to the Bidens’ relationship with Ukraine comes as he faces an impeachment inquiry from the House of Representatives over his troubling communication with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the inquiry on September 24th following reports that Trump tried to coerce Zelensky into investigating Biden and his son. It’s also been reported that Trump threatened to suspend nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine for not looking into the matter, though the White House has denied such reports.
The controversial communication was first revealed in an intelligence whistleblower complaint, which alleged Trump was “using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election.”
Trump has acknowledged that he and Zelensky discussed the Bidens, but has denied any wrongdoing. A rough transcript of their July 25th phone call released by the White House does not show an explicit quid pro quo agreement between the two leaders.
Biden responded to Trump’s attacks on Wednesday by warning the president that he’s “not going anywhere.”
“Let me make something clear to Trump and his hatchet men and the special interests funding his attacks against me—I’m not going anywhere. You’re not going to destroy me. And you’re not going to destroy my family,” Biden said in a statement.
