Former CPAC leader calls Trump 'social poison' over 'bigoted' campaign ad
President Trump unveiled a new ad meant to boost the Republican Party, but many Republicans want nothing to do with it.
The ad, which reeks of Willie Horton-esque fear-mongering, drew fierce critique from the former chairman of the Florida Republican Party, Al Cardenas. He condemned Trump as a "despicable divider" and a "social poison" to America. Cardenas once chaired the American Conservative Union, which hosts the prominent Conservative Political Action Conference, but he has long opposed Trump on many fronts. And in his Thursday tweet, Cardenas asserted that Trump's ad would "condemn you and your bigoted legacy forever."
The Wednesday ad, paid for by Trump's campaign and released less than a week before the midterms, features footage of a twice-deported Mexican man gloating about "kill[ing] cops." It claims "Democrats let him into our country," and suggests the migrant caravan still more than 1,000 miles from the U.S. would bring more like-minded criminals.
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Fellow conservatives, including retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), have spoken out against Trump's newest ad, but Cardenas' condemnation is one of the harshest yet.
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