Trump Downplays ‘Racist’ Campaign Ad: ‘A Lot of Things Are Offensive’

Trump added that he often found many questions from journalists to be offensive as well

President Trump didn’t appear concerned about a GOP midterm campaign ad that many critics have called out as being racist. Trump told reporters Monday that people can be offended by anything and that he found many of their questions just as offensive.

“I don’t know about it. You’re telling me something and I don’t know about it. We have a lot of ads and they’re certainly effective, based on the numbers I am seeing,” said Trump. “A lot of things are offensive. Your questions are offensive a lot of times.”

The ad features convicted cop killer Luis Brocamontes and accuses Democrats of allowing him into the United States. The spot featured graphic dialogue from Brocamontes and comes amid President Trump’s thundering rhetoric about a caravan of migrants moving toward the U.S. border from Mexico.

Brocamontes was actually captured — and released — by Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio — a Trump superfan who the president pardoned last August after a misdemeanor contempt of court conviction last  year.

Critics accused the ad of exploiting racial fears and compared it to President George H.W. Bush’s infamous Willie Horton spot in 1988.

CNN openly refused to run the ad, NBC and Fox News (after running it Sunday night) also said they would no longer do so. Facebook also removed it, saying it violated their terms of service.

The ad remains live on Twitter, where President Trump caused a stir after posting it and keeping it aloft his page as his pinned tweet for several days.

You can watch it below.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1057728445386539008

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