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CNN Bans Conservative Ad Featuring RBG Until After Burial

Standard would mandate liberal icons are buried before they appear in paid advertising

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September 25, 2020

CNN is refusing to air an ad pushing for a swift confirmation of the next Supreme Court justice until Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday, is formally buried.

The network alerted the 45Committee on Friday that it would not air the ad, which features video of Ginsburg stating that presidents are elected to serve a full four-year term, until after Ginsburg’s burial next week, according to a source familiar with the negotiation. 

Ginsburg pressed the Republican-led Senate to take up President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, even in an election year, and the ad suggests, despite reports that her dying wish was that she not be replaced until "a new president is installed," that Ginsburg understood that the Constitution dictated the opposite. 

While the network routinely rejects advertisements from right-leaning groups, it is rare to accept an ad but object to its timing. The network accepted a second ad from the group for air immediately that does not feature video footage of the late justice. 

A CNN spokeswoman did not immediately respond to questions about the new advertising standard and whether it extends beyond liberal icons.

President Donald Trump is expected to announce a nominee to replace Ginsburg on Saturday, and the 45Committee launched an ad blitz on Friday featuring video clips of the late justice in which she says plainly that presidents are elected to four-year terms. 

"The president is elected for four years, not three years, and so the power that he has in year three continues into year four," Ginsburg said in a 2016 appearance at Georgetown Law arguing at the time for the Senate to vote on Garland. 

The new ad zeroes in on Ginsburg’s statement and argues that the best way to respect the late justice is by heeding her words. "How do you respect Ruth Bader Ginsburg?" the ad asks. "Remember her wise words on Supreme Court nominees in an election year."

Published under: CNN , Ruth Bader Ginsburg