Trump campaign attack ad uses stock images from Ukraine to depict Americans suffering under Biden

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump’s campaign used images from Ukraine to depict Americans suffering under President Biden in an attack ad titled “Mourning in America,” The Post has learned.

“Under Biden’s unprecedented inflation, the hope of home-ownership — gone. And young adults, forced to abandon seeking the American dream to live in their parents’ basement longer,” the ad says.

But Ukrainian photographers whose work was used in the commercial say the images don’t show Americans at all.

The lensman who filmed a young home-shopping couple told The Post that the footage was shot in Lviv, western Ukraine, in 2021 — before the Russian invasion.

“I can only say bad things about Trump,” said the video’s creator, who asked not to be named to avoid harming their relationship with a major stock-image vendor.

“But unfortunately, anyone can buy our or another video … I can’t control it,” he added. “I wouldn’t want him to use [the] video in his ad. But rules are rules.”

Yevhen Shkolenko, the owner of the company that produced the basement imagery, told The Post that it doesn’t show a frustrated American, but actually depicts a Ukrainian man in 2022, after the Russian invasion.

The man pictured sitting on a beanbag-style chair was an actor, but the image captured the reality of a people living amid frequent air raid sirens, the photo firm owner said.

“This video was made 100% in Ukraine during war in real sheltered basement in my city Zaporizhzhya, which is 40 km (25 miles) of front line,” Shkolenko said. “We were one of those who stayed in our city to help people and the army and we continued our work of filming and when we were doing this filming, we went down to the basement many times in order to hide from rocket fire.”

Shkolenko added that “I am not upset that [the] Trump team used my footage” and admitted that he was “not deeply aware of the political situation in America.”

“Among my friends in America there are supporters of both Trump and Biden… [I] just want to be nice for all Americans who support us every day,” he said.

Trump, 76, unleashed the attack ad against 80-year-old Biden hours before saying at a CNN forum Wednesday night that he would end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of reassuming office in January 2025 by talking with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump refused to call Putin a war criminal and also declined to say whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war, replying that he was most interested in ending the violence and expressing concern the war-criminal designation might prevent peace.

“I think in terms of getting it settled, so we stop killing all these people,” the former president said.

A Trump campaign spokesman did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

A former Trump 2020 campaign official who no longer supports his candidacy told The Post, “As president, Trump bragged about the billions of dollars worth of weapons and aid he sent to Zelensky in Ukraine. Now he’s paying for stock footage from Ukraine to depict the American Dream in his lame campaign ads? What a joke.”

Trump and Biden are the current front-runners for their parties’ presidential nominations, but Trump faces a crowded field including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are also potential GOP candidates.