NRA picks intriguing day to launch $3 million anti–Hillary Clinton ad campaign

NRA leaders pose with Donald Trump — (Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, the NRA's Political Victory Fund PAC released a new ad suggesting that Hillary Clinton wants to take away Americans' guns and "leave you defenseless," the first spot in what the NRA says is a $3 million ad buy on cable TV in battleground states. The ad portrays Clinton, played by an actress, as an out-of-touch millionaire on a private jet who has been "protected by armed guards for 30 years," presumably a reference to her Secret Service detail.

The NRA's PAC has already spent about $6 million on ads supporting Donald Trump, whom the group has endorsed, and the ad was unveiled on the same day Trump brought up Clinton's alleged desire to "essentially abolish" the Second Amendment, unless "the Second Amendment people" keep her from appointing Supreme Court justices.

The NRA sided with the Trump campaign's translation of that statement — as a call to vote against Clinton instead of a call to arms — and NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker told USA Today that "the Second Amendment is on the ballot, and the only way to protect that right is to vote for Donald Trump is defeat Hillary Clinton." Clinton, for the record, has never publicly advocated ditching the Second Amendment, though she does advocate strengthening background checks and other gun regulations. If you are curious, you can read about her proposals at her website, and Trump's positions at his.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.