Skip to main content

Clinton warns of a divided America under Trump in first television ad


Hillary Clinton is wasting no time in using Republican Donald Trump’s own words against him, as she releases her first paid television advertisement of the general election campaign.

The spot, titled “Who We Are,” is narrated by Clinton. It splices patriotic images, including of the Statue of Liberty and veterans marching with flags, with some of Trump’s more controversial moments during the Republican primary, including when he mocked a disabled reporter and appeared to encourage violence at a rally.

“I’d like to punch him in the face,” Trump says in the ad, as Clinton interjects to ask: “Do we help each other?”

“Knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously,” Trump says, as Clinton asks: “Do we respect each other?”

The ad, which will air in battleground states beginning Thursday, complements a speech she’s set to give Monday in Ohio, in which she’ll draw distinctions between her and Trump's vision for America. Clinton became the presumptive Democratic nominee for president on Tuesday, after winning the California and New Jersey primaries and achieving a majority of pledged delegates and the popular vote. Though her challenger, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, has yet to concede, Clinton is making a hard pivot to the general election as she seeks to define Trump as both dangerous and a demagogue.

Trump is also scheduled to deliver a major address on Monday attacking Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, after saying last week that she turned the State Department “into her private hedge fund.”

After the images of Trump, Clinton closes the ad by saying “it’s wrong to pit people against each other.” She then outlines her vision for the nation, including “a strong economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top,” to work with international allies and to give all Americans the chance “to live up to their God-given potential.”

“What kind of America do we want to be? Dangerously divided, or strong and united. I believe we are always stronger together,” says Clinton.