NBC, Fox Pull Trump's Controversial Immigration Ad

Ad is being called racist, misleading
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 5, 2018 2:57 PM CST
NBC, Fox Pull Trump's Controversial Immigration Ad
President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Air Force One, Monday, Nov. 5, 2018, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Trump is traveling to three campaign rallies.   (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Trump's misleading immigration ad shocked viewers when it aired during Sunday Night Football, and now NBC and Fox News have announced they will no longer air the ad. The ad, made for the Trump campaign, interspersed images that appeared to show migrant caravans heading to the US to images of convicted cop killer Luis Bracamontes, an undocumented immigrant, despite no connection between the two. "After further review we recognize the insensitive nature of the ad and have decided to cease airing it across our properties as soon as possible," NBC said in a statement after airing the ad during its football coverage. Fox made a similar statement after initially airing the ad on both Fox News and Fox Business Network, CNN reports.

The ad was also shown to a targeted group of users on Facebook, and on Monday the social media giant also announced it would no longer show the ad, though users can still share the video, the New York Times reports. CNN, which calls the ad "racist" in its headline, had refused to sell airtime for it, and sources say it had not been submitted to CBS or ABC. Asked about the controversy by the Times, Trump implied he was unaware of it, but added, "A lot of things are offensive. Your questions are offensive a lot of time, so, you know." A longer version of the ad, shared by Trump on Twitter last week, also falsely claimed that Democrats allowed Bracamontes into the country. The Washington Post runs down the problems with the ad, noting that Bracamontes appears to have last entered the US during George W. Bush's presidency. (See how Saturday Night Live mocked Fox News coverage of the caravan.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X