Trump Launches Re-Election Ad Painting Ominous Vision Of Border Wall Ahead Of Speech
Just ahead of his controversial prime time address Tuesday night, Donald Trump has released a re-election ad that isn’t afraid to set a dark tone. The ad focuses heavily on the topic of Trump’s evening address: the border wall and the question of security between our country and Mexico.
The ad, which ran on CNN, as reported by Deadline, places the blame for the entire situation (and by extension, the ongoing government shutdown) on the shoulders of Democratic leaders — specifically, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. The two Democrats have been opposed to the border wall from the start, a fact which Trump emphasized through his re-election ad.
“Drugs, terrorists, violent criminals, and child traffickers trying to enter our country through our southern border,” the ad stated. “But Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi care more about the radical left than keeping us safe. The consequences? Drugs, death, violent murder, gang violence. We must not allow it!”
The ad concluded with an accusation that Democrats are “playing politics,” and need to focus on actual border security. It’s an ominous message, and no doubt sets the tone for tonight’s prime-time address, which many suspect will be a public plea for support of the wall.
My network will be carrying Trump’s Wall speech live. So at 9pm Tuesday, tune into CBS to See B.S.
— Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) January 8, 2019
Not everyone is happy about the president’s new ad angle or his impending speech. An assortment of late-night hosts — including Stephen Colbert — have heavily criticized the networks for choosing to air Trump’s speech.
And he wasn’t alone. Seth Meyers spent much of his Monday night monologue criticizing both Trump and the networks for choosing to air his address.
“There is no sign that the government shutdown will end any time soon,” the Late Night host said during his show. “And now the president wants a prime-time address to repeat his lies.”
“First of all, just because Trump wants to address the nation doesn’t mean networks should air it,” Meyers said. “Otherwise, they’re just passing on his lies unfiltered. They should either reject him outright, or if he insists on speaking in prime-time, make him do it as a contestant on The Masked Singer.”
Despite significant pushback against the president’s address, almost every major network plans to air it on Tuesday night.
House Democrats are calling for equal air time to respond to Trump’s statements. And many networks, including FOX, have agreed to air their response to the president’s address.
“Now that the TV networks have decided to air the president’s address, which if his past statements are any indication will be full of malice and misinformation, Democrats must immediately be given equal time,” Pelosi said in an official statement.
