President Trump is returning to Indiana this week, increasing his efforts to help Republican businessman Mike Braun oust Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly.
While Braun has so far avoided Trump’s style of in-your-face politics, focusing more on conservative policies, his campaign has scheduled a new TV ad timed to the Trump visit that takes a hardline on Donnelly’s politics.
And it features Trump as the accuser with quotes and video pulled from the president’s May visit to Indiana.
The new ad ties Donnelly to liberal Democratic leaders including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and charges that he’s their puppet on issues such as immigration and taxes.
Trump says on the ad, “They say, ‘Joe, this is the way you’re going to vote.’”
Ironically, Trump’s TV image has also been used by Donnelly, who recently ran an ad touting Trump’s praise for the senator’s push on legislation to let people with life-threatening illnesses to bypass the Food and Drug Administration and get experimental drugs.
Trump did very well in Indiana and the seat is seen as a “get” for the GOP. However, the most recent poll shows Donnelly up by 12 points.
The new Braun TV ad begins airing tomorrow. Trump is due in Evansville, Ind. Thursday night.
Trump was in Indiana on May 10 for a Braun rally in Elkhart where he labeled Donnelly “Sleepin’ Joe” and called him the the least effective Democrat senator.
“If Joe Donnelly, Sleepin’ Joe and the Democrats, get back into power, remember what I said: they will raise your taxes, they will destroy your jobs, and they are going to knock the hell out of your borders,” he said in May.
