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Matt Johnson / Flickr (CC by 2.0) | Remix by Max Fleishman

Pro-Trump super PAC’s Ted Cruz attack ad—by the numbers

We will have so many numbers, you'll get bored with numbers.

 

Aaron Sankin

Tech

Posted on Mar 31, 2016   Updated on May 27, 2021, 12:27 am CDT

With less than a week to go before the 2016 Wisconsin presidential primary, Sen. Ted Cruz (R – Wis.) holds a 10-point lead in the polls over rival Donald Trump.

As the GOP establishment circles the wagons in an attempt to stop Trump from becoming the party’s nominee, into the fray steps Great America PAC, a super PAC supporting Trump’s candidacy, with a TV ad bolstering Trump while slamming Cruz as being soft on immigration—both from Latin America and Syria’s bloody civil war.

Let’s break the ad down by the numbers:

Trump’s net favorability rating, which is probably responsible for the woman in the video receiving “some grief” when she tells people she’s voting for Trump: -33

Blue cereal bowls in front of male child: 1

Pink cereal bowls in front of female child: 1

Pink cereal bowls in front of male child: 0

Blue cereal bowls in front of female child: 0

Traditional gender roles affirmed: 2

Number of gay people Trump, in 2015, believes should be able to get married: 0

Number of congratulations Trump, in 2005, gave to Elton John on occasion of the singer’s marriage to long-time partner David Furnish: 1

Number of Syrian refugees Cruz, the son of a Cuban refugee, wanted to let into the U.S prior to the Paris attacks: >0

Number of Syrian refugees Cruz, the son of a Cuban refugee, wanted to let into the U.S. after the Paris attacks: Just the Christians.

Number of Syrian refugees who have settled in the U.S. in the past six months: 1,200

Total number of Syrian refugees displaced by the country’s ongoing civil war: 4.8 million

Number of times anti-Trump outside groups, including super PACs, aired ads on broadcast TV prior to the primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina, Colorado, North Carolina, Virginia , Ohio, and Florida: 4,998 (As tallied by the Political TV Ad Archive.)

Number of times pro-Trump outside groups, including super PACs, aired ads on broadcast TV in those same markets: 0

Amount Great America PAC has pledged to spend to support Trump: $1 million

Amount Great America PAC raised between Jan. 1 and Feb. 29, according to FEC filings: $73,752.59

Amount of money Great America PAC spent over that same time period, according to FEC filings: $49,659.63

Apple laptops in video: 1

Percent of Apple products Trump suggested boycotting when the company fought FBI demands to help law enforcement officials compromise the security of the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone: 100

Value to advertisers of a user of an Android mobile device, relative to a user of an Apple mobile device, due to Apple users’ tendency to be richer and spend more money: 1/4

So this ad implies that Trump’s business success, as indicated by his personal wealth, is a more important part of his candidacy than his declarations to keep Americans safe from terrorists: +1

Number of times in the video it momentarily seems like the woman had named her children “Paris” and “San Bernardino”: 1

Americas in need of being made great again: ~1

Photo via Matt Johnson/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) | Remix by Max Fleishman 

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*First Published: Mar 31, 2016, 3:27 pm CDT