A new ad placed on Friday by Kamala Harris’s campaign, without mentioning the scandal threatening the North Carolina Republican’s run for governor, seeks to taint Donald Trump by association.
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By Nick Corasaniti
- Sept. 20, 2024, 4:06 p.m. ET
Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign on Friday began running this 30-second ad, “Both Wrong,” on digital platforms and television stations in North Carolina. It declined to provide details on how much commercial time it had purchased, but the campaign has nearly $8 million reserved on television in North Carolina through Election Day, according to AdImpact.
On the Screen
The ad alternates between showing Donald J. Trump effusively praising Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson of North Carolina, the Republican candidate for governor, and Mr. Robinson uttering several polarizing statements.
Mr. Trump calling Mr. Robinson “an unbelievable lieutenant governor” is juxtaposed with Mr. Robinson declaring, “For me there is no compromise on abortion.”
Mr. Trump saying, “I think you’re better than Martin Luther King” is followed by Mr. Robinson speaking of banning abortions in North Carolina with no exceptions, and angrily suggesting, in a close-up clip addressing the camera, that abortions are the fault of women who “weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.”
Mr. Trump’s praise for Mr. Robinson is captioned on the screen, as minor piano chords play.
As Mr. Trump is shown, in slow motion, greeting Mr. Robinson onstage at a rally, a deep-voiced narrator intones: “Donald Trump and Mark Robinson: They’re both wrong for North Carolina.”
The Script
Trump: “And he’s been an unbelievable lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson.”
Robinson: “For me, there’s no compromise on abortion.”
Trump: “I think you’re better than Martin Luther King.”
Robinson: “We could pass a bill saying you can’t have an abortion in North Carolina for any reason.”
Robinson: “Abortion in this country is about killing a child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.”
Trump: “I’ve been with him a lot, I’ve gotten to know him, and he’s outstanding.”
Narrator: “Donald Trump and Mark Robinson: They’re both wrong for North Carolina.”
Accuracy
The ad features direct quotations from both candidates.
The Takeaway
Much of the strategy behind this ad relates to its context. On the surface, it ties Mr. Trump to some of Mr. Robinson’s more extreme comments about abortion, one of Ms. Harris’s strongest issues. But running the ad on Friday, as Mr. Robinson faced growing pressure to quit the race over reports that he had once defended slavery and called himself a “Black Nazi” and a “perv” on a pornographic forum, was a not-so-subtle move to saddle Mr. Trump with Mr. Robinson’s entire set of political baggage at once.
Nick Corasaniti is a Times reporter covering national politics, with a focus on voting and elections. More about Nick Corasaniti
See more on: 2024 Elections: News, Polls and Analysis, Republican Party, Mark Robinson, Donald Trump
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Source: nytimes.com
