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CeCe Winans to Dennis Quaid: Here's what we know about celebrity participation in Trump-ordered HHS ad campaign

It is reportedly a $300 million ad campaign from the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) to help 'defeat despair' about the pandemic
UPDATED SEP 26, 2020
Dennis Quaid and CeCe Winans (Getty Images)
Dennis Quaid and CeCe Winans (Getty Images)

President Donald Trump seems to leave no stones unturned in his campaigning effort. He has been hosting rallies across the country. And, of course, tweeting regularly about his opinion and attacks on his opposition – particularly Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

The latest news, according to Politico, is a supposed $300 million ad campaign from the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) to help “defeat despair” about the pandemic. , Politico reported, six individuals had knowledge about the ad campaign, that in some budget documents is described as the “Covid-19 immediate surge public advertising and awareness campaign”. If reports are to be believed, the ad is expected to lean heavily on video interviews between administration officials and celebrities. They will discuss aspects of the coronavirus outbreak and address the Trump administration's response to the crisis.

According to the report, senior administration officials have already recorded interviews with celebrities such as actor Dennis Quaid and singer CeCe Winans. The HHS has also approached television host Dr. Mehmet Oz and musician Garth Brooks for the campaign. The campaign is in the process of recording the public-service announcements, which could be aired as short snippets or longer conversations, four people with knowledge of its strategy informed Politico. According to the report, Trump administration officials have reached out to celebrities who have said favorable things about the president or are assumed will have friendly conversations for the administration officials.

In one video recorded this month, infectious-disease expert Dr Antony Fauci was paired for a conversation with Quaid. And, Surgeon General Jerome Adams was paired up with singer Winans, whose brother BeBe Winans had fallen ill from Covid-19. A spokesperson the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases  said, “[A]t the request of HHS, Dr. Fauci did an interview with Dennis Quaid for a PSA campaign.” The spokesperson added that the agency was not aware of further details and referred questions to HHS. Quaid drew a lot of flak online for his support. Many people on Twitter canceled Quaid.

They are considering Brooks as well. Brooks’ daughter had tested positive for coronavirus. Representatives for Brooks did not comment on this yet. Winans’ representative confirmed her involvement in the videos, praising Adams for his part in the conversation. “She volunteered her time participating in the PSA and was happy to do so because of her concerns about how Covid has and is impacting the African American community,” Chaz Corzine, a spokesperson for Winans, wrote in an email to Politico.

Dr Oz and other members of the President's Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition, an advisory board of athletes and celebrities that is overseen by HHS, are also being considered three individuals with knowledge of the planning. Oz’s spokesperson initially did not respond to questions about whether the TV host had discussed a role in the campaign, but on September 25 said that Oz “is not scheduled to participate at this time.” The health department defended its decision to involve celebrities. Mark Weber, the HHS spokesperson, said in a statement that “working in partnership with entertainers is one tactic being pursued to reach targeted audiences with public health messaging.”

The public awareness campaign is supposedly being scheduled to start airing before Election Day on November 3. It was largely conceived and organized by Michael Caputo, the health department's top spokesperson who took medical leave and announced that he had been diagnosed with cancer. Caputo, who has no medical or scientific background, in a Facebook video on September 13 said that the campaign was “demanded of me by the president of the United States. Personally.”

“The Democrats — and, by the way, their conjugal media and the leftist scientists that are working for the government — are dead set against it. They cannot afford for us to have any good news before November because they're already losing. … They're going to come after me because I'm going to be putting $250 million worth of ads on the air,” said Caputo.

This initiative is under investigation by Democrats, who have alleged that the ad is an attempt to boost Trump's standing on Covid-19 before the election and have unsuccessfully tried to halt the contract. Caputo handed over the project to Weber before taking medical leave. And Weber in a statement defended the initiative by saying, “There is no room for political spin in the messages and materials designed by HHS to help Americans make informed decisions about the prevention and treatment of Covid-19 and flu.”
The White House is yet to respond to questions about the campaign’s goal, referring questions to HHS. However, two officials told Politico that it was not accurate that Trump “demanded” that Caputo works on the project.
 
 
 
 
 

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