The Beastie Boys have allowed the Joe Biden campaign to use the band’s 1994 single “Sabotage” in a new anti-Trump commercial that attempts to blame the president for Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) decision to keep bars and clubs closed.
Focusing on the indie rock club The Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, the commercial features an interview with venue co-owner Joe Malcoun who claims that it is President Trump’s fault that the club remains closed. In reality, Gov. Whitmer ordered the shut down of indoor bars and clubs in July and has so far refused to lift the restrictions.
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Variety reported that the new campaign ad — which debuted Sunday during the broadcast of the Pittsburgh Steelers vs Cleveland Browns NFL game — marks the first time that the Beastie Boys have allowed one of the band’s songs to be used in a commercial.
A Biden spokesperson told the trade magazine that the band agreed to the use of “Sabotage” for the spot “because of the importance of the election.”
The ad tries to blame President Trump for Gov. Whitmer’s decision to keep bars and clubs closed.
“For 50 years, the Blind Pig has been open and crowded, but right now, it’s an empty room,” Malcoun says in the ad. “This is the reality of Trump’s Covid response. We don’t know how much longer we can survive without any revenue. A lot of restaurants and bars that have been mainstays for years will not make it through this. This is Donald Trump’s economy: There is no plan and you don’t know how to go forward. It makes me so angry.”
He concluded: “My only hope for my family and for this business and my community is that Joe Biden wins this election.”
Gov. Whitmer and President Trump have been exchanging harsh words in recent days, with both claiming that the other is inciting violence. During President Trump’s rally in Muskegon on Saturday, the crowd chanted “lock her up” in reference to Gov. Whitmer.
President Trump won Michigan in 2016 by a narrow margin, marking the first time a Republican presidential candidate has taken the state since 1988.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
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