The White House on Thursday blasted an ad from a Democratic congressional candidate in Virginia that compared President Trump and Osama bin Laden.
“The message sent in a campaign ad from a congressional candidate from Virginia is nothing short of reprehensible,” said Raj Shah, White House principal deputy press secretary, in a statement. “Leaders from across the political spectrum — starting with Leader Pelosi — must swiftly condemn this abhorrent message.”
He was referring to an ad from Dan Helmer, a candidate for Virginia’s 10th Congressional District. The ad said Trump is the “greatest threat to our democracy” and took over that mantle from bin Laden, the former leader of al Qaeda and the mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“After 9/11, the greatest threat to our democracy lived in a cave,” said Helmer in the ad as a photo of bin Laden appeared on the screen. “Today, he lives in the White House. No one, even the president, is above the law.”
Shah called on House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to condemn the remark.
Helmer is running for the Democratic nomination in the 10th district to take on Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-Va., in November. Helmer is an Army veteran who served in the Iraq War.
According to CNN, the ad began running on digital platforms on Wednesday and started to run on television in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
