This morning, Our Principles PAC, a Republican organization devoted to attacking the hotelier, released its second television ad in Iowa, a 60-second spot called “Tough Questions.”
The ad argues that Trump supports a pathway to citizenship and goes on to note that he used illegal immigrants on the construction crews building his newest Washington hotel. “He makes big money off illegal immigrants,” the narrator says. “Amnesty for illegal immigrants, big money for himself. Can conservatives trust Donald Trump?”
The Republican National Committee has been wringing its hands about Trump for months, hoping that the television mogul would implode before now. This latest ad shows that the Republican establishment is finally taking steps to tank his campaign. But with Trump still leading in national polls just five days before the Iowa caucuses, Republicans may have lost their window to make a dent in his support. Trump has had months to establish himself as a hardliner on immigration. An ad like this one (and the many others attacking Trump in Iowa right now) may plant some doubts in the minds of his faithful, but the overall message has very little time to sink in before voting begins.
You can see all the attack ads airing against Donald Trump in the New Republic’s 2016 Campaign Ad Archive.