Even though the next presidential election won’t be held for more than three years, Donald Trump’s campaign staff is already hard at work, including the production of a 30-second television advertisement entitled “Let President Trump Do His Job.”
It doesn’t take long for the ad to attack the Republican official’s “enemies” in both the mainstream media and Congress who are opposed to Trump succeeding. The E-word upsets the media, even as they oppose him tooth and nail.
A male narrator begins the video by stating “Democrats [are] obstructing” with pictures of minority leaders Senator Chuck Schumer of New York and Nancy Pelosi in the House of Representatives, as well as Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
Next comes the statement: “The media attacking our president,” followed by images of several people in the press, including the Cable News Network’s Anderson Cooper, Jake Tapper, Don Lemon and Erin Burnett, as well as Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Chris Hayes and Rachel Maddow from the MSNBC cable television channel.
“Career politicians standing in the way of success,” the narrator continues with pictures of Democratic Representatives Maxine Waters of California -- who has openly campaigned for impeaching Trump since he took office -- and Steny Hoyer, who has been in Congress since 1981.
“But the president’s plan is working,” the male voice states, since his time in the White House has resulted in “one million jobs created, more Americans working that ever before” and “unemployment lowest since 2001” with videos of construction workers and people employed in factories to offer proof for those claims.
The narrator then refers to “the stock market” reaching “all-time record highs” and the nation having “the strongest military in decades,” an assertion supported by footage of a military plane in mid-air and an aircraft carrier patrolling an ocean.
Several images of people in the press again appear as the male voice contends: “The president’s enemies don’t want him to succeed, but Americans are saying: ‘Let the president do his job.’”
Of course, the advertisement ends with Trump saying: “I approve this message.”
"This new campaign ad speaks directly to the American people and sets the record straight, reminding them that President Donald Trump will not stop fighting for them and will not allow anyone to stand in his way to deliver success for them,” campaign manager Michael Glassner said in a statement announcing the ad.
As of Monday afternoon, the video had been watched more than 755,000 times and had drawn more than 15,000 comments, ranging from “Keep up the good work, Mr. President” to “This clown is taking credit for what Obama did, and his stupid supporters believe it.”
However, according to an article written on Sunday, August 13, by Josh Feldman for the Mediaite.com website, the new advertisement hasn’t received unanimous support.
“American Urban Radio Networks White House Correspondent April Ryan was featured in the video,” Feldman stated, “and she sounded off” on Twitter:
Sad day I am singled out as an enemy of the White House as this racial hate is going on just for asking real questions and speaking truth.
Watch this video! This [is] outrageous! I am no enemy, just a journalist asking questions of presidents for 20 years.
Meanwhile, Chris Enloe from TheBlaze website pointed to several posts on the Twitter website that criticized the timing of the ad since it was released the same weekend as the racial violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Not surprisingly, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee slammed the video: “At a time when our country begs for unity, Trump releases a horrific attack ad labeling Ds as enemies. Disgraceful.”
Ellie McCragg also criticized Trump and the campaign ad: “Seriously ... Can't denounce actual Nazis in American streets, but have time to golf and make campaign ads for 2020? Worst Prez ever!”
“Shame on you!” a woman named Sophia posted. “1 day after a tragic event, you come out with this attack ad!”
Drain the Trumps also hammered Trump as having the “gentle timing of a hand grenade, as always.”
Meanwhile, Bill Pollock noted: “So I’m guessing white supremacists didn’t make the ‘enemies’ list.”
“I may be just a small-town political scientist,” Daniel W. Drezner stated, “but you can't call for unity and then release this ad the next day.”
Even Larry Sabato, founder and director of the conservative Center for Politics at the University of Virginia (which is ironically located in Charlottesville), criticized the timing of the ad: “Trump-Pence just released a new TV campaign ad. Anybody think the timing is highly inappropriate? Count me in.”
However, an article by Maxwell Tani at the Business Insider website dealt with several related topics:
Trump continues to struggle with low approval numbers, and the television ad could be an attempt to bolster his support.
His campaign has raised more than $12 million since the beginning of the year.
“Trump filed for reelection the day he took office, an unusual move that has allowed him to begin campaigning long before the November 2020 election,” Tani concluded.
