Even Fox News Stops Running Trump Caravan Ad Criticized as Racist

Mr. Trump, for his part, said he was unaware of the controversy.

“You’re telling me something I don’t know about,” he told reporters on Monday before boarding Air Force One. “We have a lot of ads, and they certainly are effective, based on the numbers that we’re seeing.”

Asked about critics who called the ad offensive, Mr. Trump replied: “A lot of things are offensive. Your questions are offensive a lot of times so, you know.”

Divisive, over-the-top political ads have been a hallmark of this year’s age-of-rage midterm battle, as candidates across the country accused their opponents of being terrorists, criminals, and in one case, deserving of a golf spike to the face.

[As the midterm elections near, read about how Trump is bringing up immigration as an issue.]

But Mr. Trump’s ad, which aired on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” the top-rated program, sparked a particular outcry — and a debate over the limits of paid political speech hours before voters head to the polls.

The actress Debra Messing, whose show “Will and Grace” airs on NBC, wrote on Twitter that she was “ashamed” that her network “aired this disgusting racist ad.” The film director Judd Apatow, who has made movies at NBC’s corporate sibling Universal Studios, called it “a low point in the history of NBC.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/05/us/politics/nbc-caravan-advertisement.html?partner=rss&emc=rss