After Donald Trump’s convincing win in the Republican party’s Indiana state primary this week—and the departure of his main rival Ted Cruz from the race—it appears he really will be Hillary Clinton’s rival for the US presidency, however surreal it might still be to some. (His victory has many Republicans leaving the party, and even burning their voter registration cards.)
For Clinton, the question now becomes how to best attack Trump. Luckily for her, recent months have provided plenty of fodder. In two early attack ads, she’s letting Trump himself, and his Republican detractors, do the work for her—without Clinton herself appearing once in either ad.
One new ad starts “Republicans just nominated Donald Trump to be the leader of their party. A vote for Donald Trump is a vote for…” It then shows unfiltered snippets of The Donald himself, saying things such as:
“I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools—my first day, it gets signed.”
“A total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”
He calls waterboarding “fine,” and when asked about using a nuclear weapon against Europe says, “I’m not going to take it off the table. Then he mocks a reporter with a disability, and says women should be punished for having an abortion, after it becomes illegal again.
The second ad quotes Trump’s fellow Republican rivals and detractors explaining why they’re against Trump.
Florida senator Marco Rubio calls him a “con artist” and “the most vulgar person to ever aspire to the US presidency.” Ted Cruz declares him “a bully.”Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard president, says he “only seems to feel big when he’s making other people feel small.” Former Florida governor Jeb Bush suggests “he needs therapy.”
Other party luminaries weigh in. Mitt Romney, the Republican party’s nominee for president in 2012, describes Trump as “a phony.” South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham calls him a “race-baiting, xenophobic religious bigot.”
The battle between Clinton and Trump is only just getting started. But already, Clinton has shown she’s planning to let Trump make her case for her.