Former President Donald J. Trump has released ads on the popular social media platform Snapchat for the first time in this year’s election — and one of them features him flashing a thumbs-up at a memorial for the nearly 3,000 victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The 15-second ad shows Mr. Trump pointing at the camera at the memorial last month in New York. White text flashes across the screen that says: “Who needs to vote? You.” Mr. Trump smiles, gives a thumbs-up and points at the camera again.
The clip is from the annual Sept. 11. service, an event where politics are traditionally put aside. This year, Mr. Trump attended the service alongside top Democrats, cordially greeting President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he had met in a bruising debate the night before.
Brett Eagleson, the president of 9/11 Justice, a group for family members of victims of the attacks, said politicians should not use ground zero as a “photo opportunity” for political advertisements.
And he questioned why Mr. Trump would appear to mug for the camera there.
“I would love to know who he’s making that gesture to,” Mr. Eagleson said. “Because it certainly doesn’t seem like a gesture you would make at a solemn ceremony.”
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment on Monday evening.
Mr. Trump drew criticism on the day of this year’s Sept. 11 memorial after his travel entourage included Laura Loomer, a far-right activist who has spread conspiracy theories about the 2001 terrorist attacks. At a news conference later that week, Mr. Trump defended her as a “free spirit.” He later distanced himself on social media from some of her past comments, which included calling Sept. 11 “an inside job.”
This week, he again angered some New Yorkers by holding a rally at Madison Square Garden during which speakers made a series of racist and misogynistic comments.
The new ad is part of roughly $23,000 in spending on Snapchat from the Trump campaign across several battleground states. Mr. Trump had not spent any money on the disappearing-message app so far this election cycle, even though it is popular with the kinds of young voters he has been trying to reach. In contrast, Ms. Harris has spent more than $6.6 million on the platform. She has also vastly outspent Mr. Trump on other digital and social media platforms.
The Trump campaign has expressed anger that Snapchat banned his personal account after the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol but, unlike other technology platforms, never restored it.
Another ad bought by the Trump campaign on Snapchat shows Mr. Trump dancing at one of his rallies in front of a “Vote early” sign. A third features clips of Ms. Harris laughing and warns viewers that if they do not vote, “liberals will get their woke agenda.”
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