Trump launches million-dollar ad to show off success on TV

(Baonghean.vn) - On May 1, US President Trump released a campaign advertisement celebrating his victory, declaring the first 100 days of his term a success, and calling media channels reporting in a different direction "fake news".

The 30-second television ad and a slew of other versions that have appeared online are the latest examples of Mr. Trump’s early return to political campaigning, at a time when most presidents spend their time pushing their highest legislative priorities.

The tape comes after a tumultuous week in which Trump, after dismissing the 100-day mark as an indicator of success or failure in his presidency, gave several interviews and sent senior advisers to seemingly endless press conferences, all of whom insisted he had accomplished significant things since taking office, despite his lack of major legislative accomplishments.

“America has rarely seen success like this,” the ad’s narrator asserts, listing the confirmation of Neil M. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, companies investing in American jobs, the elimination of “job-killing regulations” and the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.

The ad also touts “the biggest tax cut in history,” but fails to mention that Mr. Trump has yet to issue any regulations — or even a set of policy guidelines — to reorganize the tax code to deliver the massive cuts for businesses and individuals that he has promised.

“You wouldn’t know that from watching the news,” the narrator in the ad adds, with images of the faces of mainstream news anchors and the words “fake news” in large red letters running across the screen.

The 30-second ad asserts that Trump's first 100 days in office have been a success. Photo: BI

The 30-second spot makes no mention of Trump’s failed push to overhaul the health care law, after declaring that repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act was his top priority. Nor does it mention his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, which have so far been largely unsettled.

Congress has refused to provide more money for the border wall that was a symbol of Trump’s campaign strength. Courts have also blocked two of his attempts to ban travelers from six Muslim-majority countries and to stop funding cities that refuse to help the federal government track down and deport illegal immigrants.

The ad was paid for by Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign, which said it would spend $1.5 million to air the ad across the United States — a relatively small sum compared to a major national public relations campaign.

But the numbers underscore Trump’s strategy of returning to partisan politics relatively quickly, including a series of campaign rallies that began just weeks after his election. The latest rally took place in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on the evening of April 29, coinciding with the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner, which Trump declined to attend.

Phu Binh

(According to NYTimes)