‘Lie, cheat and steal’ is Democrats’ description of Trump
The Democratic Party is making a withering assault on President Donald Trump in a closing-argument TV ad that starts airing Thursday in South Florida.
The Democratic National Committee said the 60-second ad, titled “Deserves,” is designed to show “who Trump really is: someone with a long record of lying, cheating, and stealing his way through life and whose failed leadership has plunged Florida into crisis.”
The ad is part of a six-figure ad buy in the MiamiFort Lauderdale TV market. It begins airing five days before Election Day and as Florida moves into the final weekend of early voting.
Both Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden are campaigning in Florida on Thursday. Biden will hold drive-in car rallies in in Broward County and in Tampa and Trump will hold one of his mass MAGA rallies in Tampa.
The president, an inveterate TV watcher, could see the spot. He was planning to arrive in South Florida late Wednesday night and expected to overnight in the area before going back out on the campaign trail.
Broward and MiamiDade counties, the only place where the ad is airing, are home to the state’s biggest pool of Democratic Party voters and are a place where tough political combat is the norm. And the ad doesn’t make any attempt to deliver any kind of soft or subtle message.
With a deep-voiced, ominous sounding narrator, the ad starts with pictures of Trump and his father, and moves on to headlines about Trump’s past — including accusations of racial bias and sexual misconduct — and video clips from scenes during his presidency.
The narrator’s words: “Born and raised in New York City. From his father, he learned the lessons of his success: Lie, cheat, and steal. He inherited hundreds of millions, and squandered it on failed businesses. Six bankruptcies. Settled $25 million dollars for scamming students. Sued by thousands including the Justice
Department for discriminating against Black people in his housing. Accused by 26 women of sexual misconduct, including assault and rape.
“Donald Trump. [The narrator stretches out the name for more emphasis.]
“As president, he failed to pledge on ‘American Carnage.’ Instead, he caused it. Stoking the fire of racism and division. Losing a trade war with China. Pushing millions off their health care. Triggering an economic collapse by refusing to lead in a global pandemic. Standing back and standing by as over 225,000 Americans have died from COVID. America can’t afford another four years of Donald Trump.”
Tom Perez, chairman of the DNC said in a statement that “Floridians know” a second Trump term is unacceptable. “His failures have sparked one crisis after another, costing Floridians their health, lives, and livelihoods. Working families deserve competent, unifying leadership in the White House.”
In a statement Wednesday evening, Trump Victory Florida press secretary Emma Vaughn offered a different picture.
“Since his inauguration, President Trump has put America first and Americans across the country continue to reap the rewards,” she said, adding that “it is clear that Americans deserve four more years of President Trump’s tremendous achievements.”