Republicans are readying themselves for the first Democratic primary debate Tuesday with a comprehensive response strategy that includes a brand new attack ad targeting two-time presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.
The ad, released Monday by the Republican National Committee, pays special attention to a comment made by Clinton in August with regards to the private email server she kept during her tenure as Secretary of State.
“Most importantly I never sent classified material on my email and I never received any that was marked classified,” Clinton told reporters at the Iowa State Fair at the time.
Federal agencies reviewing the content of the former secretary of state’s emails have since marked hundreds as containing classified content.
“Hillary Clinton is not telling us the truth … again,” the RNC ad says on-screen.
According to the RNC, the five-figure ad buy is part of a larger effort to “remind voters, including Democrats, why the vast majority of Americans find Clinton to be dishonest and untrustworthy.”
“We’re also targeting Sanders’ online supporters, marking the first time we’ve actively dabbled in the [Democratic] primary,” RNC spokeswoman Allison Moore told the Washington Examiner.
While the 30-second ad targeting Clinton will not air during Tuesday’s debate, the RNC says it will have a “multi-department debate command center” fact-checking candidates and courting voters during the first gathering of the Democratic hopefuls.
Clinton will take center stage at Tuesday night’s Democratic debate, CNN announced Monday. Debate coverage will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET, airing live from Las Vegas.
