Google Removes Pro-Trump Ad, Reverses Course After Major Backlash

Google was on the receiving end of significant outrage over the weekend after the company banned a pro-Trump ad that spotlights massive cost of living increases under President Biden. The ad was eventually reinstated after thousands of users expressed outrage.

The short ad begins with a black voter answering a call from a Biden phone bank. After a woman informs him that she is with the Biden campaign, the man replies by informing her that he voted for Biden last time. He quickly informs her that “everything costs more,” including essentials such as gas, food and housing.

“Ok, but Biden is helping pay rent for newcomers to America from around the world,” the Biden campaign volunteer then follows up.

“You mean illegal immigrants?” the voter replies. “I’m struggling to pay my bills but Biden’s paying rent for illegals? They get handouts and I’m paying for it.” He then informs her that he will be voting for Trump before hanging up.

The super PAC spent more than $15,000 targeting the ad to rural voters in Macon, Georgia. After being live for several hours, NBC News reporter Andrew Arenge noticed that it had been removed due to a “privacy violation.”

It was unclear what policy had been supposedly violated, though the move instantly led to backlash from a number of prominent conservatives.

“Google has taken down this Trump ad on the pretext of violating its guidelines. The real reason of course is because it’s pretty effective,” wrote conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza. “Let’s teach Google a lesson by sharing this widely!”

“Google is censoring this pro-Trump ad to protect Biden,” said Donald Trump Jr. “Let’s make it go viral.”

A day after the ad was initially removed, Make America Great Again Inc. re-uploaded it to Google. The tech giant appears to have reversed course after the backlash, as Arenge noted that all ads are running without restrictions. “All four of the ads highlighted below were flagged in my tweet from yesterday and it appears they’ve all been turned back on,” Arenge wrote in an X post followed by a screenshot of the ad’s status.