MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) – Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump is giving some of the most divisive proposals of his campaign a starring role in his first major television ad, as the unsettled race for the party’s nomination swirls around security concerns.
With the opening 2016 primary contest four weeks away, the billionaire businessman is spotlighting his plan to ban Muslims from entering the United States – temporarily and with exceptions, he says – and to build a wall along the southern border. Trump’s campaign says he plans to spend $2 million a week on the ad, set to begin airing Tuesday across the first two states to cast votes in the GOP nominating contest. Iowa hosts the nation’s kickoff presidential caucuses on Feb. 1 and New Hampshire follows with the opening primary election on Feb. 9. The real estate magnate, who leads the Republican field nationally, is fighting for a good showing in the leadoff states against several rivals, particularly Sen. Ted Cruz.
Trump’s proposal on Muslims has been condemned by Republicans and Democrats as un-American and counterproductive, yet the hard-line approach to immigration has fueled his popularity among the overwhelmingly white GOP primary electorate.
The new ad features dark images of the San Bernardino shooters, who were Muslims, and body bags followed by images of people apparently streaming freely across a border.
“The politicians can pretend it’s something else. But Donald Trump calls it radical Islamic terrorism. That’s why he’s calling for a temporary shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until we can figure out what’s going on,” a narrator says.