A new ad is attempting to make Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL)'s endorsement of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump into an albatross around the conservative senator's neck.
According to Washington Post blogger Greg Sargent, the video was produced by Democratic super PAC American Bridge 21st Century and constitutes a rapid response to Kirk's attempt on Tuesday to distance himself from Trump's racist remarks about U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel.
“I find Donald Trump’s belief that an American-born judge of Mexican descent is incapable of fairly presiding over his case is not only dead wrong, it is un-American," said Kirk -- who is currently embroiled in a bruising re-election fight against Democratic challenger and Iraq War veteran Rep. Tammy Duckworth. "After much consideration, I have concluded that Donald Trump has not demonstrated the temperament necessary to assume the greatest office in the world.”
The American Bridge ad reminds the world that Kirk endorsed Trump for president weeks ago. Onscreen titles appear, saying, "Here's what Kirk knew before he supported Donald Trump," before playing a compilation of the candidate's most outrageous and offensive remarks from this campaign cycle.
Sargent wrote that the ad includes "footage of Trump insulting and belittling Mexican immigrants, insulting and belittling John McCain’s war record, insulting and belittling a disabled reporter (anyone else notice a pattern here?), and calling for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S. The ad also shows Trump previously questioning whether Judge Gonzalo Curiel could be impartial, given that he is “Hispanic.” The implication, obviously, is that Kirk endorsed Trump in spite of all those controversial positions, and in spite of his previous attacks on Judge Curiel, and only un-endorsed after the media heat grew so severe around Trump (after his most recent assault on Curiel) that he had no choice."
Watch the video, embedded below:
