Residents of Iowa and New Hampshire are about to see even more Donald Trump on their television screens.
The billionaire real estate mogul and former reality television star released the first television ad for his presidential campaign Monday morning. The 30-second spot will air in the aforementioned states over the next month and is Trump’s first foray into TV ads.
You can watch it here.
Trump, who previously boasted that he didn’t need to advertise because of all the media attention his campaign has received, announced last week that he would spend at least $2 million per week on television ads that will air in early voting states. The Iowa caucuses will be held at the beginning of February, followed soon by New Hampshire’s primary.
The ad begins with an image of Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama that fades into a montage of provocative images, including photos of the San Bernardino shooters, while a voiceover narration touts Trump’s plan to enact a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S. “until we can figure out what’s going on.” The TV spot also repeats some of Trump’s favorite campaign claims, including that he “will cut the head off of ISIS and take their oil” as well as a promise to force the Mexican government to finance a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The ad ends with video of Trump at a rally echoing his campaign slogan by promising to “make American great again.”
In an interview with the Washington Post over the weekend, Trump said he has as many as eight television ads in production that he hopes will sway voters in key states.
“The world is laughing at us, at our stupidity,” Trump told the Post. “It’s got to stop. We’ve got to get smart fast—or else we won’t have a country.” He added that he will mostly finance the ads himself, despite the Post noting that Trump’s campaign had raised $3.9 million in donations through the third quarter of 2015.
In November, Trump debuted radio ads that aired in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. He said last week on Twitter that his campaign is $35 million under budget before he mocked rival Jeb Bush, who has spent a reported $37 million on TV ads, for spending more money and still polling poorly.
