Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has promised to start becoming more active on the airwaves through traditional advertising as the first primary contests approach early next year, and if his latest anti-Obama ad is an indication, his commercials will be just as unconventional as his 2016 campaign has been.
On Wednesday, the former real estate mogul attacked one of his favorite targets, the president, by tapping into the ongoing “Star Wars” phenomenon.
In the dramatic 15-second clip, there is a montage of news clips reporting on the U.S. military campaign against ISIS (“We are in a serious war,” reads a title card), followed by out-of-context footage of Obama at his end-of-the-year press conference saying he has to go because he has a screening of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” to attend. “Time for a leader with real priorities,” a bold title card reads.
What the Trump ad neglects to mention is that the screening was a special event for Gold Star families, who have lost loved ones in the Iraq War. Watch Trump’s ad here:
We need a real President!We need a real President!
Posted by Donald J. Trump on Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Trump’s broadside is part of a new strategy he has employed as of late. He’s been much more aggressive taking aim at Obama, as well as Hillary and Bill Clinton, in an attempt to position himself as a general election alternative to their more progressive vision.
The real estate mogul has maintained a consistent lead in national GOP primary polls but he has been lagging behind Sen. Ted Cruz in Iowa and seen his lead in New Hampshire become more precarious in recent weeks. Trump said he intends to spend $2 million a week in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Ironically, Trump has been subject to one of the more popular new “Star Wars” spoofs. “Darth Trump” superimposes Trump’s free-wheeling stump speech rhetoric over scenes from the original “Star Wars” trilogy. You’ll never hear “I love the Mexican people” the same way again when it’s coming out of the mouth of a 6-foot-8, half man, half robot: Meanwhile, Trump is not the only candidate to reference “Star Wars” this election season. Sen. Cruz, an unabashed “Star Wars” fan launched a contest earlier this month for users of his social media app to win tickets to see the highly-anticipated film. “Ted is a huge fan of the entire saga, and we know many of you are too. So keep helping us get the message out for a chance to win a movie night on us!” read a message sent to the Cruz app users. Cruz is also infamous from his committed impersonations of “Star Wars” characters like Yoda on the campaign trail. The newest episode of the franchise, “The Force Awakens,” has already set records for the biggest domestic box office opening of all time and for passing the half-billion mark in grosses faster than any film in history. It is on pace to become the biggest U.S. hit of all time, without inflation being taken into account.
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