The Trump and Hillary ads that I saw last night were the best
political ads that I had seen in the 2016 general election. I got
goosebumps after watching both of them! They were very well done. In
this post, I would like to comment on each ad, and add some
side-comments.
A. Here is
a link to the Trump ad. As a dramatic soundtrack plays, Trump is
giving a speech against the elites, whom he claims are concerned for
their own interests rather than the interests of American workers.
Images are shown of these elites, including Wall Street, Hillary
Clinton, and Janet Yellen. Trump says that the only one who can stop
this is “you.” Images appear of Americans from different races, looking
into the camera, and Trump says that he is fighting for them. There
are images of Trump enjoying the campaign, as he gives a thumbs-up to
supporters and claps (I think it was at an African-American church).
The anti-elite part of the ad reminded me of a John Birch Society
documentary, since the JBS rails against rich globalist elites. Indeed,
Trump’s final ad is being called anti-Semitic, since it shows some Jews
and supposedly echoes anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about Jewish
international bankers running the system for their own benefit. One
need not draw this conclusion, though, since Trump may just be railing
against elites, as Bernie Sanders railed against elites. Plus, in
considering the question of whether Trump is anti-Semitic, I do think
the fact that Trump’s own son-in-law (Ivanka’s husband) is an Orthodox
Jew is important; Ivanka even converted to modern Orthodox Judaism before marrying Jared Kushner. Some may think that counts for nothing, but I disagree.
(I should note that The John Birch Society long denied being
anti-Semitic, stating that several members of the conspiracy that it was
criticizing, such as the Rockefellers, were Gentiles.)
As a side-comment, here is a link to Pat Buchanan’s latest column, “What Hath Trump Wrought.”
According to Buchanan, even if Trump loses, the Republican Party will
have to deal with Trump’s challenge against the establishment. The GOP
cannot return to the Bush dynasty or the usual establishment
Republicans, after Trump has come in, swept the primaries, and continued
to receive sizeable support notwithstanding his numerous gaffes and
scandals.
B. Here is
the link to the Hillary ad, entitled “Roar.” The music is awesome.
And, while the ad is about Hillary, it focuses more on what she wants to
accomplish: students being debt free (that resonates with me!), and the
health of the climate.
That is something I have liked about Hillary. Although she has run a
lot of anti-Trump ads, she has also offered a positive vision of what
she wants to do. I was watching her on TV last night, and I liked that
she said that she wants to be the President of all Americans, both those
who vote for her, and also those who do not vote for her. Behind the
scenes, who knows what shenanigans go on? But, on the surface, at
least, her campaign has been rather positive.
I said that these were the two best ads of the general election this
year. If we want to include the primaries, I think Bernie Sanders’ “America ad” is awesome!