Fox News to stop airing Trump’s controversial immigration ad
- The 30-second ad shows Luis Bracamontes, an illegal immigrant who killed two policemen, and footage of the migrant caravan.
- Critics say the ad is racially charged and is meant to conjure fear before the midterm elections.
- Fox News, typically the most pro-Trump news channel, took some by surprise when it announced it would no longer air the commercial.
Fox News will no longer air an immigration ad created by President Donald Trump’s campaign committee that many critics say is inflammatory and racially charged, a company spokesperson said Monday.
“Upon further review, Fox News pulled the ad yesterday and it will not appear on either Fox News Channel or Fox Business Network,” Marianne Gambelli, president of ad sales for Fox News, said in an email.
Fox News now joins NBC, CNN, and Facebook on the list of companies that have stopped airing the controversial commercial, which first aired about a week before the midterm elections.
“This ad violates Facebook’s advertising policy against sensational content so we are rejecting it,” Facebook said in a statement, adding that users can still post the video on its platform but it cannot “receive paid distribution.” NBC said Monday it would stop airing the “insensitive” commercial across its properties as soon as possible.
CNN has made it abundantly clear in its editorial coverage that this ad is racist. When presented with an opportunity to be paid to take a version of this ad, we declined. Those are the facts. 🍎
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) November 3, 2018
The commercial aired less than 20 times across the several media companies, according to Axios:
- Fox Business: 8 airings
- Fox News: 6 airings
- MSNBC: 3 airings
- NBC: 1 airing
Trump said he was unfamiliar with the controversy surrounding the ad.
"You're telling me something I don't know about," he told reporters Monday. "We have a lot of ads and they certainly are effective, based on the numbers that we're seeing."
He said many things are offensive.
"A lot of things are offensive," he said. "Your questions are offensive a lot of time, so, you know."
