New ad attacks Trump by slut-shaming his wife
An anti-Donald Trump Super PAC is running ads to try to convince Mormons not to vote for Trump — by slut-shaming his wife, Melania.
BuzzFeed News reports that Make America Awesome, founded by Republican strategist Liz Mair, is trying to increase turnout among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ahead of the Utah primary on Tuesday.
Most LDS voters are Republican, but they strongly dislike Trump for his crude behavior and his hard-line stances against immigration and Muslim religious freedom.
The Super PAC is trying to convince Mormons to vote for Ted Cruz instead, using three ads. One features Mitt Romney urging voters to support the Republican who can beat Trump in their state. Another highlights Trump's history of pro-choice views, which he's gone back and forth on over the years.
The third, however, features Melania Trump posing nude and mocks the idea that she could be the first lady one day. The photo comes from a shoot Melania did for British GQ in 2000.
Melania Trump studied architecture and design at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia before becoming a successful fashion model. She speaks five languages fluently and has her own jewelry and cosmetics lines. Barbara Walters, after interviewing her, said, "Maybe because she's so beautiful, we don't expect her to be as smart as she is."
But people who see this ad might not know any of that, and might be inclined to judge Melania Trump negatively because of how she's portrayed. The ad plays on unfortunate stereotypes about women who pose nude or are open about their sexuality: that they're vapid, can't be trusted, and shouldn't be respected. It attacks Trump not by attacking him directly, but by impugning the character of the woman he decided to marry.
And sadly, it's a tactic that might appeal to some socially conservative voters.