News / Society

New Trump immigration ad too racist even for Fox News

Monday, 05 November 2018 11:53 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 06 November 2018 12:00 AM ]

People walk by the headquarters of 21st Century Fox on June 13, 2018 in New York City. (AFP photo)

US President Donald Trump's favorite network, Fox News, has taken down one of his midterms ads linking the Central American migrant caravan to the infamous Mexican drug dealer and convicted killer Luis Bracamontes, following outcry over its racist content.

The ad was taken down by the company on Monday after receiving airtime for about a dozen times on Fox News and Fox Business.

“Upon further review, Fox News pulled the ad yesterday and it will not appear on either Fox News Channel or Fox Business Network,” Advertisement Sales President Marianne Gambelli told CNN.

President Donald Trump, aboard Air Force One, gestures while speaking to members of the traveling press corps, October 6, 2018. (AP photo)

The controversial ad urged Americans to take a tougher stance against illegal immigration by voting against Democrats in the upcoming US midterm elections, blaming Democratic policies for illegal immigration and police killings.

The short video segment, however, heavily relied on racist stereotypes of Latin Americans by invoking the image of Bracamontes, a previously deported convict who had killed two sheriff's deputies in the state of California in 2014.

Stop The Caravan! This is about being a nation of laws. You must enter our country LEGALLY. When will it be enough? When the caravan is 100K, 500K, 2MM in size? pic.twitter.com/e9Xpgu0M4z
— Brad Parscale (@parscale) November 5, 2018

While the ad was initially denied any air time by CNN and was taken down by NBC and Facebook after being featured for several days, Fox's decision matters particularly given the channel's close support for the Republican president.

Fox News just pulled the Trump ad because it was too racist.

Let that marinate for a moment.
— Denizcan Grimes (@MrFilmkritik) November 5, 2018

Some observers questioned whether the provocative ad is any different from the channel's usual talking points.

serious question:

how does Fox News square this with offering hours of the same racial fear-mongering in primetime to promote Trump (at no cost) on a nightly basis? https://t.co/a9bOq0nYfa
— Jesse Lehrich (@JesseLehrich) November 5, 2018

Later today, Trump defended the ad's "offensive content" after being questioned by journalists, saying that the ads had been receiving a high number of views.

"A lot of things are offensive, your questions are offensive a lot of times," added the president.

The recent controversy comes amid what some have dubbed as the "most racist" election in modern US history, with many seeing a stake in the identity-politics debate that has taken over the country.

PressTV-Voters amped up for ‘most racist’ US elections

The 2018 midterm congressional elections are littered with racist attack ads aimed at driving turnout in favor of President Trump and his party.

Americans will elect lawmakers for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 seats of the 100 seats in the Senate in addition to numerous other state-related and local seats on November 6.

According to some political pundits and Trump, himself, the elections may determine the presidency's survival.

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