NBCUniversal Bars Trump Campaign Ad on Biden’s Ties to Ukraine

(Bloomberg) -- NBCUniversal is joining CNN in refusing to air a Donald Trump campaign ad that includes unsubstantiated claims about Joe Biden and Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Comcast Corp. division ran the ad at least twice on its networks, but it wants the Trump campaign to make changes to the commercial before it will air it again, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the decision was private. The ad says that Biden pressured Ukraine to fire its prosecutor investigating his son’s company and says Democrats are trying to overturn the 2016 election.

The commercial has renewed the debate over how media outlets vet campaign ads. Facebook Inc., arguing that such ads represent free expression, has drawn flak for not taking down the Ukraine commercial.

The Trump campaign hasn’t submitted a new ad after NBCUniversal requested changes to the commercial, according to the person. A representative for the campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported on NBCUniversal pulling the ad.

--With assistance from Bill Allison.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nick Turner in Los Angeles at nturner7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Rob Golum

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