AG AD IS WITHIN BOUNDS
Sue Hatfield, the Republican candidate for attorney general, has joked that she sometimes feels she is running unopposed, given her Democratic opponent’s seeming obsession with the politics of a different Republican: Donald Trump.
Trump’s policies — and particularly the controversial decision to separate parents and children at the Mexican border — are indeed front-and-center in the latest ad from Democrat William Tong. But the ad stays true to the facts and is careful in the connections it makes between the president and the role of the Connecticut attorney general.
“Republican Sue Hatfield is one of Donald Trump’s strongest supporters in Connecticut,” the ad begins, as the screen shows Hatfield in a “Make America Great Again” hat and quotes a New London Day columnist describing Hatfield as “a genuine Trump sycophant.” Whether Hatfield is one of the state’s “strongest supporters” of the president is subjective, but she is
certainly a loyal and unapologetic supporter of Trump, making that a fair statement. And the description from the columnist, while also obviously one person’s opinion, is accurately quoted.
The ad then pivots to immigration policy. “She even supports Trump’s policy to take children away from their parents at the border and lock them in detention camps,” the narrator says, followed by an 11-second clip of an interview Hatfield had with Paul Bass of the New Haven Independent. The on-screen transcript has a few words wrong, but the clip is unedited and accurately reflects what Hatfield said in the interview.
In response to a question by Bass about separating parents and children, Hatfield began discussing sanctuary cities. Bass then refocused the conversation, leading to the portion of the interview replayed in the ad:
“I’m talking about specifically the separating parents from kids. That’s the issue of the day,” Bass says.
“Right. It’s the issue of the day,” Hatfield responds. “But I support the president’s agenda.” Bass: “So you do support that policy?” Hatfield: “I do. I do.”
Hatfield did not specifically mention detention camps, and she subsequently said “we need more discussion about the children.” But she gave a straightforward answer to a clear question, and has not claimed that she misspoke or that her words were taken out of context.
The ad then pivots back to the president. “Sue Hatfield won’t stand up to Donald Trump,” the narrator concludes. “And she won’t protect Connecticut.”
The Connecticut attorney general has little, if any, direct role in border security issues, but there is a potential role in “standing up” to the White House. Given the ideological divide, the state’s current — Democratic — attorney general has signed on to multiple suits against the Trump administration, including suits related to immigration enforcement.
That makes the candidates’ attitudes toward Trump administration policies a relevant campaign issue, while leaving it to voters to decide which candidate’s position will or will not “protect Connecticut.”
With a fair representation of Hatfield’s thinking on a topic that has a reasonable link to the work of the attorney general, we rate this ad Generally Accurate.