The Democratic National Committee launched a campaign against former President Donald Trump in Atlanta on Saturday, just hours before Republican candidate Trump arrived in the city.
A mobile billboard at the arena where Trump is scheduled to speak features the Democratic National Convention poster. Video played Some of Trump’s previous controversial comments have been criticized as racist.
The Hill got an exclusive look at the ad, which is just over a minute long, and it includes some of Trump’s most notable comments, including calling African countries “shitty countries” and saying there were “very fine people on both sides” of the violent white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.
In one clip, MSNBC’s Joy Reid can be heard reporting on Trump’s comments calling for the death penalty for the five people who were exonerated, before the ad cuts to Trump himself saying, “I want society to hate them.”
The video is followed by a quote from Trump in a 1991 book by John O’Donnell, former president of Atlantic City’s Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino: “A black person counts my money. I hate it. The only person I want counting my money is a short guy who wears a yarmulke every day. I think that guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a black trait.”
But Trump’s words aren’t the only thing displayed on the mobile billboards.
Another video features Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-La., harshly criticizing Trump before the 2016 election, in which Graham calls Trump a “racist, xenophobe and religious bigot.”
The new ad comes after the former president faced widespread criticism for comments he made about Vice President Harris’ identity at the National Association of Black Journalists’ annual conference in Chicago this week.
The ad ends with footage from the convention in which ABC News reporter Rachel Scott confronts the president about some of his past comments and asks the former president why black voters should vote for him.
At the end, the words “They shouldn’t” appear on a black screen.
“At NABJ this week, Donald Trump once again demonstrated a truth that Black voters across the country have known for years: He does not care about the well-being of our communities and does not truly listen to the issues that matter most to us. He once again spread racist rhetoric and spouted nonsensical lies about the presidency,” Marcus W. Robinson, a senior spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement to The Hill.
“If Trump’s embarrassing comments this week weren’t offensive enough, let’s remember that Donald Trump has been a disaster as president for the black community. A second Trump presidency threatens to undo the historic gains the Biden-Harris Administration has made for the black community, including historically low unemployment, a narrowing of the racial wealth gap and a surge in black wealth,” he added. “Black Americans deserve better than four more years of Trump.”
Harris, who rallied in Atlanta on Tuesday with hip-hop superstars Megan Thee Stallion and Quavo, received enough votes in the virtual ballot on Friday to become the official Democratic nominee. She is expected to announce her running mate in the coming days.
Both Harris and Trump are desperately trying to win over black voters, but some experts say Harris’ comments at the NABJ this week have undermined her support with black voters.
There are 465,230 Black Americans living in Atlanta, making up about 52% of the city’s population, according to 2020 data. Atlanta Regional CommissionIn 2020, Georgia flipped to the Democrats, helping secure Democratic control of the Senate and the White House.
