Donald Trump’s campaign released an ad Friday rehashing an earlier attack on Hillary Clinton’s recent comments on her polling numbers.
The new Trump ad, titled “Why?,” claims Clinton isn’t performing better in the polls because of her email scandal, and because her “policies have allowed [the Islamic State] and terrorism to spread.”
The ad also suggests Clinton’s approval rating is low because she alienated voters earlier this month when she said at a fundraiser in New York City that that roughly half of Trump’s supporters are sexist, racist, homophobic bigots.
The Democratic nominee is ahead of Trump nationally by only 3 points, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.
Clinton addressed the fact that it’s a competitive race earlier this month during a video address to the Laborers’ International Union of North America. She first listed all her qualifications as a candidate, and then added, “Having said all this, ‘Why aren’t I 50 points ahead?,’ you might ask.
“Well, the choice for working families has never been clearer,” Clinton added in her pre-recorded address. “I need your help to get Donald Trump’s record out to everybody. Nobody should be fooled.”
The Trump campaign responded on Sept. 26 to Clinton’s video address with an attack ad, titled “Do you really need to ask?,” highlighting her comments on her approval rating.
Like the video released Friday, the Sept. 26 ad suggested Clinton is performing poorly because of her email scandal and because she suggested some of Trump’s supporters are “deplorables.”
Trump’s latest anti-Clinton ad comes just days after the first presidential debate, which was held at Hofstra University in New York.
The Clinton campaign has already capitalized off of the event, which two major polls showed she won, by producing at least one campaign ad attacking Trump for his debate performance.
The Democratic nominee’s team released an ad Wednesday, titled, “Never said that,” highlighting the moments during the debate where Trump denied saying things he actually said.
Clinton and her running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., have also gloated publicly about the debate.
Kaine said at a campaign stop in Florida that what Trump “showed was just how rattled he was. He was leaning up against the ropes like a boxer who was about to go down for a TKO. Hillary showed that she was ready for the debate and she’s ready to be president, and Donald Trump showed that he was running out of gas before the debate was one-third through.”
Clinton said elsewhere in reference to Trump supposedly skimping during the debate on the details of his proposals, “I do have this old-fashioned idea that if I’m asking for your vote, I should tell you what I want to do.”
The Trump campaign has yet to release an ad highlighting notable moments from the presidential debate.
The Republican candidate and his team have complained this week that the debate moderator, NBC News’ Lester holt, was biased, and that the GOP nominee’s microphone was defective.
On Friday, the Commission on Presidential Debates confirmed that there were indeed “issues” with Trump’s microphone.
“Regarding the first debate, there were issues regarding Donald Trump’s audio that affected the sound level in the debate hall,” the commission said in a statement.
