Access Politics
A very touching commercial aired during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. The bipartisan PSAs for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma relief featured former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Noticeably, the current President, Donald Trump, was not included.
The father/daughter filmmaker team of Roy and Courtney Spence somehow managed to pull off this touching bi-partisan public service announcement in just 48 hours. People magazine reports:
Roy, a co-founder of the Austin-based advertising firm GSD&M, and his daughter Courtney, the founder and CEO of the creative film agency CSpence Group, had previously co-produced public service announcements with Clinton and the elder George Bush for the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, and with Clinton and the younger George Bush for the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.
But on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend — after Harvey had ripped through Texas, killing dozens and leaving thousands injured and more than 1 million people displaced — Roy got a call from George H.W. Bush’s spokesman, Jim McGrath, saying all the living former presidents wanted to come together for “something historic.”
“He said the presidents wanted to help out 41 and 43 with their funding for the victims of Harvey,” Roy tells PEOPLE of George H.W. Bush, the 41st president, who lives part of the year in Houston, and his son George W. Bush, the 43rd president, who lives in Dallas.
Roy immediately responded with a “yes” — and was then informed of two “little, slight catches.”
Firstly, the ad would have to be ready to air in less than a week as the NFL had donated prime time that Thursday night to debut the PSA during the league’s opening game. No problem, Roy said.
The second catch was that none of the presidents would be in the same location.
Roy overcame what probably was a logistical nightmare by calling his daughter… He admits he was in tears. He explained to her what was going on, and she immediately agreed to help. Courtney said, “It was an all-volunteer effort,” she says. “I’ve never seen people mobilize, I’ve never seen people say yes, I’ve never seen people donate their time like this before. People stopped what they were doing and got on planes … It was amazing.”
More from People:
Both Courtney and Roy say they’ve heard stories of people who felt inspired by the ads to put aside their political differences and come together to help their fellow Americans after the disasters. A friend who was running an evacuee shelter in Beaumont, Texas, told Courtney she overheard someone there say, “If those guys can work together, then we can work together.”
Though many people wondered why President Trump was not included with the other commanders-in-chief, there was no snub:
Trump knew about the effort in advance, Roy said. But Trump was not invited to participate, confirms another source knowledgeable of the project who requested anonymity discussing what could be perceived as a snub. A third source familiar with the project told CNN that although the White House was notified ahead of the PSA, the effort was always intended to include only the former presidents.
In other words, this was intended to be a public service announcements for former Presidents all along. Donald Trump did his part by personally donated $1 million to relief efforts.
We will confront ANY challenge, no matter how strong the winds or high the water. I’m proud to stand with Presidents for #OneAmericaAppeal.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 8, 2017
Watch the poignant video below:
Image Credit: Screen cap
Hat tip: People
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