At the top of President Trump’s Twitter feed Wednesday was a video. A man on the screen has a shaved head and a mustache and long chin hair. Smiling, he announces, “I killed f—– cops.” The man is Luis Bracamontes, a twice-deported Mexican immigrant who was given the death penalty in April for killing two California law enforcement officers in 2014. At the time of the shootings, Bracamontes was in the U.S. illegally. Now, he’s the star of the GOP’s latest campaign ad, the Washington Post reports. “Illegal immigrant, Luis Bracamontes, killed our people!” reads text on the 53-second video, which is filled with audible expletives. “Democrats let him into our country. . . . Democrats let him stay.” The text is superimposed over videos of Bracamontes appearing to show no remorse for his crimes, and declaring, “I’m going to kill more cops soon.”
Footage follows of throngs of unidentified people rioting in unidentified streets and pushing down fences in undisclosed locations. A Fox News Channel correspondent interviews a man identified only as “deported immigrant in caravan,” who asks to be pardoned for attempted murder. “Who else would Democrats let in?” the video asks. An image of Bracamontes smiling reappears before being replaced by text, “President Donald Trump and Republicans are making America safe again.” The video, which the president promoted to his 55.5 million Twitter followers, came with a message from Trump to “Vote Republican now!” As of Thursday morning, the video had been viewed more than 1.8 million times, drawing widespread condemnation. Trump and Republicans were criticized for “fearmongering,” and the ad has been decried as “racist,” with many likening it to the infamous “Willie Horton” ads supporting George H.W. Bush in the 1988 presidential election. The video Trump shared, critics say, is “far worse.” “This may be the most desperate and vile ad since Willie Horton,” tweeted former Labor Secretary Robert Reich.