Former CPAC leader calls Trump 'social poison' over 'bigoted' campaign ad

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

President Trump unveiled a new ad meant to boost the Republican Party, but many Republicans want nothing to do with it.

The ad, which reeks of Willie Horton-esque fear-mongering, drew fierce critique from the former chairman of the Florida Republican Party, Al Cardenas. He condemned Trump as a "despicable divider" and a "social poison" to America. Cardenas once chaired the American Conservative Union, which hosts the prominent Conservative Political Action Conference, but he has long opposed Trump on many fronts. And in his Thursday tweet, Cardenas asserted that Trump's ad would "condemn you and your bigoted legacy forever."

See more

The Wednesday ad, paid for by Trump's campaign and released less than a week before the midterms, features footage of a twice-deported Mexican man gloating about "kill[ing] cops." It claims "Democrats let him into our country," and suggests the migrant caravan still more than 1,000 miles from the U.S. would bring more like-minded criminals.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Fellow conservatives, including retiring Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), have spoken out against Trump's newest ad, but Cardenas' condemnation is one of the harshest yet.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.