A rigged system, porous borders, terrorism, fear, uncertainty, doubt—and then there’s Trump.
That’s the message of Republican nominee Donald Trump‘s first television ad of his campaign, which debuted on Friday morning and paints Trump as a savior against Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival.
“In Hillary Clinton’s America, the system stays rigged against Americans,” the ad’s narrator says atop images of inmates and throngs of non-white people. “Syrian refugees flood in. Illegal immigrants convicted of committing crimes get to stay, collecting Social Security benefits, skipping the line. Our border open. It’s more of the same, but worse.”
NEW: @realDonaldTrump‘s first general election ad. Hits Clinton on “rigged system,” touts Trump on immigration –> pic.twitter.com/oJrKgQIH8o
— Hallie Jackson (@HallieJackson) August 19, 2016
In typical political ad form, the ad abruptly switches from a tone of fear to one of hope.
“Donald Trump’s America is secure, terrorists and dangerous criminals kept out,” the voiceover says. “The border secure. Our families safe. Change that makes America safe again. Donald Trump for president.”
Trump’s ad aligns with his recent foreign policy speech in Youngstown, Ohio, on Monday during which he out his plan to combat the threat of ISIS, which he says grew as a direct result of the policies championed by President Barack Obama and Clinton during her time as secretary of state.
Although the speech contained a slew of inaccuracies, it successfully revealed Trump’s greater focus on terrorism as Election Day draws ever closer. And there are numbers to back up this shift. A PRRI/Brookings survey from late June found that Americans’ fears of terrorism have jumped 20 percent since November 2014, from 33 percent to 51 percent among all respondents.
Anxiety over terrorism is particularly pronounced among Trump supporters, the poll found, 65 percent of whom say they fear becoming a victim of terrorism. Further, 77 percent of Trump supporters and 64 percent of Republicans said in the same poll that they support Trump’s temporary ban on foreign Muslims entering the U.S.
The launch of Trump’s first television ad comes amid a solid lead in the polls for Clinton, who is currently ahead by about six points, according to Real Clear Politics’ poll averages. FiveThirtyEight’s “polls-plus” election forecast model gives Clinton a 76.2 percent chance of winning the White House, as of Friday morning.
