One of the many digital advertisements that the Biden campaign has produced suddenly disappeared earlier this week. At first glance, the now “private” video didn’t seem all that unusual. A “struggling bar owner” in Michigan, the proprietor of the Blind Pig bar, was shown talking about how his business was empty and was likely to go under. He blamed President Trump’s handling of the pandemic for his woes. Fairly standard stuff for Democrats, right?

The touching story started to fall apart, however, after the Washington Free Beacon did some digging and discovered that the Blind Pig’s co-owner, Joe Malcoun, wasn’t really as “struggling” as the ad might lead you to believe. He was actually a major investor in the tech sector, the beneficiary of a significant inheritance, and a maxed-out Biden donor. I’m guessing that’s why the video was suddenly set to “private” status and no longer available for public viewing.

Joe Biden’s presidential campaign took down an ad that portrayed a wealthy tech investor backed by family money as a struggling bar owner just hours after a Washington Free Beacon report.

The campaign set the ad to private in the aftermath of the Free Beacon’s Monday evening report, which showed that Joe Malcoun, the struggling Michigan bar owner at the center of the ad, was actually a well-known “angel investor” in the state who invested in tech companies after receiving an inheritance from his wife’s late grandfather…

In the now-removed ad, Malcoun blames his bar’s inactivity on President Donald Trump.

Malcoun goes on to say that his “only hope” for both his family and his business is if Joe Biden is elected. Otherwise, disaster will be looming for him on multiple fronts. But as it turns out, he was doing well enough to make a $5,000 campaign contribution to Biden this summer. And it appears that many of his other investments are doing quite well also.

You Might Like

The advertisement was actually more deceptive than the simple fact that Malcoun was better off financially than was suggested. After all, there’s nothing wrong with being financially successful, nor is there any sin in legally inheriting money from your in-laws. (Malcoun described the inheritance as “almost like winning the lottery.”)

He only purchased the Blind Pig in 2017, so it’s not as if the establishment has been the lifeblood of his family for generations or anything. At the time, he described it as a “passion project.” From the sound of things, Malcoun probably wasn’t going to be all that affected whether the bar thrived or went under.

He’s also being more than a little duplicitous in terms of where he’s fixing the blame. As the owner is shown mournfully looking around his empty establishment and bemoaning the fact that they couldn’t have people in there for live musical performances, other facts were left out. Malcoun had previously gone on social media, showering praise on Governor Gretchen Whitmer for her competence in handling the pandemic in Michigan. Of course, the Governor was the one who shut down Mr. Malcoun’s business and left it as “an empty room,” not Donald Trump.

In the end, there’s nothing all that unusual about this story. Political campaigns engage in spin to make their own candidate look good and their opponent look bad. But the way this heartwarming, yet fake tale of woe fell apart so quickly under closer scrutiny and the Biden campaign’s rapid move to take it down were at least good for a few laughs as we ride out the end of the election.