Republican presidential underdog Ted Cruz just released his strongest ad yet. The 2-minute clip reveals a “War Room” strategy session at the Hillary Clinton headquarters. A woman playing top aide Huma Abedin drives the intrigue, as Clinton advisors plot with glee how to demolish Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. Cruz, on the other hand, cannot be so easily defeated.
After Trump’s smashing success in the New York primary, Cruz likely cannot gain the required 1,237 delegates to win the Republican nomination on the first ballot at the convention, but he can still stop Trump from doing so. Republicans seeking a reason why they should help Cruz achieve that need look no further than the arguments in this ad.
The ad is hilariously over-the-top. It seems to take the intrigues of politics too seriously and yet, at the same time, mocks its own faux solemnity. The villain Clinton is an evil-eyed caricature of the corrupt politician she actually is. Abedin paces malignantly, and staffers both smile gleefully at the weaknesses of Trump and grimace looking at the candidate they actually support.
The ad hits on every negative stereotype of Clinton — relying on her “friends in the media,” planning everything behind closed doors, and utterly wicked in brooding. It also manages to slam Trump.
“Donald Trump is paving the way for you to win the White House,” a staffer declares. One by one, they list his weaknesses.
“Silencing dissenters with lawsuits, taking people’s property, and a long list of failed businesses” plague The Donald’s campaign. “He plays fast and loose with the facts, and he’s only concerned with himself.”
The ad also delves into policy. “Trump’s comments on abortion have angered pro-lifers and the pro-choice crowd,” an adviser says. “Trump wants to stabilize the Korean peninsula by giving Japan and South Korea nuclear weapons.” Abedin responds, saying “scary,” and another staffer explains that “our research shows most people actually think he is scary.” Trump has the second-worst favorable numbers of any presidential candidate (guess who has the worst!).
Perhaps most tellingly, another staffer adds, “Our friends at the IRS say his returns are full of bombshells — he claims to be a billionaire, but takes tax credits for people who make less than half a million a year.”
“The point is, if Trump becomes the Republican nominee, the White House is yours,” the advisers conclude. Then Abedin asks, “What do you mean if?”
The staffers list the qualities Americans want in a president: someone they can trust, “someone who respects the constitution and the rights it protects,” a person who “has a proven track record taking on the Washington establishment.”
When Abedin presses the staffers on which candidate would really be a threat, they don’t even say his name. Instead, they pass Clinton a file. When she opens it, there is a picture of the plucky conservative Texan.
Aghast, Abedin asks, angrily, “How do we stop Ted Cruz?” After her question triggers no response, she repeats it. Then comes the final coup: “I don’t think we can.”
In a quick two minutes, the Cruz campaign demolishes Trump and Clinton, in a hilarious and entertaining way. Seriously, the ad is very fun, in a film noir style.
It will likely need to be shortened for television, but the YouTube clip is just stellar.
Get this cut down to :30 and run everywhere! MT @trscoop: Cruz releases awesome ‘War Room’ ad ripping on Hillary! https://t.co/svIb77UV4q
— Mark Impomeni (@MarkImpomeni) April 21, 2016
Watch the ad on the next page!
Check it out:
Join the conversation as a VIP Member