A “get well soon” digital billboard message aimed at President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump was denied in New York City, according to Human Events.
Lamar Advertising, the group that manages the billboard, reportedly denied the submission for being a “political ad,” though it was not an endorsement or connected to any campaign, according to Human Events.
“I was told that I could not run any content with the name Trump, even if it was just sending President and Mrs. Trump well-wishes and prayers after they had contracted the COVID-19 virus,” the submission’s designer and founder of pro-Trump organization Magahearts, Stephanie Lien D’Urso, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“I have to wonder if prayers and well-wishes for President and Mrs. Obama, if they had fallen ill, would have been denied.”
This cannot be a partisan moment.
It must be an American moment.
We have to come together as a nation.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 2, 2020
D’Urso submitted the message through Red State Talk Radio host Scott Adams, who already owns ad space on the billboard, according to Human Events. D’Urso has since submitted the content to two other national billboard companies, she told the DCNF.
“Are my children really facing a world where you may not be allowed to pay to have kindhearted messages of prayer and support for an ill American President and First Lady,” D’Urso said, according to Human Events. “When did we lose our freedom to act as kind human beings with nothing but good intentions in our hearts?”
Adams said Trump’s name might have caused the denial since previous “conservative” submissions were approved, according to Human Events.
“While I understand ownership not wanting to post political content above a commercial tourist business, I also think it is tragic that we have devolved to the point in America where sending someone a get well wish from a serious illness is considered political,” Adams said, according to Human Events.
Ripley’s Entertainment Company owns the billboard space and decides what content is displayed, according to Human Events. (RELATED: First Lady Melania Trump Thanks Supporters For ‘Prayers,’ Says She’s ‘Feeling Good’)
“Bottom line is that we are a family entertainment company,” Ripley’s New York Vice President of Marketing & Sales, Stacy Shuster said, according to Human Events.
“We have given instructions to Lamar that we do not want political messaging on our board. In this case, they did bring the proposed sign content to our attention,” Shuster said, according to Human Events.
“We decided that it was not something that was appropriate for us to display given our policy.”
Magahearts was created to encourage Trump supporters to “take the high road” when speaking with people whose opinions differ, according to Human Events.
“There are a lot of misconceptions created by the media and social activists about what the supporters of the president are really like,” D’Urso said, according to Human Events.
President Trump and the first lady tested positive for coronavirus and began quarantine and treatment regimens on Oct. 2, the Daily Caller reported.
Lamar Advertising and Ripley’s Entertainment Company did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
Editor’s note: This post has been updated with additional comments from Stephanie Lien D’Urso.
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