Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel defended a controversial new Trump campaign ad on immigration, arguing it highlights a “disgusting” individual who “got through the cracks.”
“I think the ad is highlighting the fact that one individual got through the cracks and killed cops. That should make every American upset and we need to fix our immigration system,” McDaniel said on “Face the Nation” Sunday.
The ad features an expletive-laced courtroom tirade by Luis Bracamontes, an illegal immigrant who admitted to killing two police officers. The phrases “Democrats let him into the country” and “Democrats let him stay” flash across the screen. No evidence exists to support either claim.
Ronna said she disagrees with critics — including those from her own party — who have slammed the new ad as divisive or racist. “I think it is something that should alarm every American,” she said.
McDaniels declined to say whether she was proud of the ad. Prominent Republicans, including Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, have slammed the president over the video. Flake called the ad “sickening.”
McDaniels’ defense of the controversial ad comes as the president has ratcheted up his immigration rhetoric on the campaign trial and hardened his immigration policies, deploying thousands of troops to the southern border to block a caravan of migrants heading to the U.S.
A new CBS News poll shows voters are divided on how they view the migrants making their way to the U.S. border with Mexico. Most Republicans see the caravan as a threat to the U.S., but most Democrats do not.
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