“It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to,” tweeted 2016 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Tuesday morning.
The former reality TV star isn’t exactly known for his restraint while on the campaign trail, kicking off his quest for the keys to the Oval Office by calling undocumented immigrants from Mexico “rapists” and making the threat, unprecedented in American history, to have his general election rival Hillary Clinton thrown in jail if he wins the election.
However, a new attack ad uploaded to YouTube by the Trump campaign this week gives an indication about what an unshackled Trump campaign might entail. The ad, entitled “Dangerous,” runs down a litany of terrorist threats emanating from across the globe. Interwoven with footage of Clinton coughing and a clip from when the former secretary of state fainted during a 9/11 memorial event earlier this year, the ad charges that Clinton lacks the physical strength to fight terrorism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTylz2WToXw
“Our next president faces daunting challenges in a dangerous world,” the ad’s narrator intones. “Iran promoting terrorism, North Korea threatening. ISIS on the rise. Libya and north Africa in chaos. Hillary Clinton failed every single time as secretary of state, now she wants to be president. Hillary Clinton doesn’t have the fortitude, strength, or stamina to lead in our world. She failed as secretary of state, don’t let her fail us again.”
The language at the end of the ad echoes comments Trump made about Clinton during the first presidential debate. “She doesn’t have the stamina,” Trump told debate moderator Lester Holt in response to a question about Trump’s previous comments about how Clinton didn’t have “a presidential look.”
Both the ad, and Trump’s comments at the first debate, stand in stark contrast to what he said about Clinton at the conclusion of the second general election debate, which was held on Sunday night. Asked by an undecided voter at the town hall-style event to say something nice about his opponent, Trump expressed admiration about Clinton’s tenacity.
“I will say this about Hillary. She doesn’t quit. She doesn’t give up. I respect that. I tell it like it is. She’s a fighter,” Trump said. “I disagree with much of what she’s fighting for. I do disagree with her judgment in many cases. But she does fight hard, and she doesn’t quit. She doesn’t give up. I consider that to be a very good trait.”
Conversely, while Trump’s ads charge that the world is too dangerous a place for a Clinton presidency, Clinton’s ads have, throughout the campaign, insisted that a Trump presidency would be too dangerous for the world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqpQ4neS68g