Democratic Group Likens Donald Trump To Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez
Priorities USA, the largest Democratic super PAC, has released a new advertisement attacking President Donald Trump, The Hill reported on Friday.
In the 30-second video clip, Trump is likened to Latin American dictators Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. The ad begins with the narrator pointing to Trump’s mishandling of the public health crisis caused by the novel coronavirus, and to unprecedented unemployment numbers.
“We need a president. But Donald Trump is raging like an authoritarian,” the voiceover says.
Footage of Trump holding campaign speeches is cut with brief video clips of Cuba’s Castro and Venezuela’s Chavez, with images of Latin American security forces juxtaposed with footage of American forces dispersing the protests in Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C.
Retired Army General Wesley Clark’s statements about Trump are also featured in the ad, as the narrator accuses the president of “openly disregarding the Constitution” by directing security forces to crack down on the demonstrators.
“When someone is the president, the authority is total,” Trump can be heard saying in the video.
“We’ve seen this before. We know how it ends,” the narrator says as images of Castro and Chavez — both of whom ruled their countries until their deaths — flash on the screen.
Nicolas Maduro, the current president of Venezuela, is also briefly shown in the advertisement.
The ad is apparently targeted at Americans of Cuban, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan descent. The seemingly bizarre decision to liken Trump to the two far-left leaders was made after extensive polling and research, according to Latino Decisions co-founder Matt Barreto.
“Our research for Priorities USA found a very clear association between Trump and the Latin American caudillo or strongman. Latinos increasingly view Trump as an authoritarian who does not make decisions in a democratic way, but more along the lines of a dictator,” Barreto explained.
Barreto added that his research has shown that as much as 44 percent of Florida Hispanics view Trump’s suggestion that he can do “whatever” he wants with major concerns. Nineteen percent reportedly view it with some concerns and 13 percent view the statement with fairly major concerns.
“This new survey confirms that Latino voters reject Trump’s caudillo ways and this messaging will prove vital in turning Cuban, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan voters against Trump in 2020,” he said.
Trump appears to have lost ground in Florida. In the Sunshine State, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polling data, he is trailing former Vice President Joe Biden by three percentage points.
Biden’s lead is even stronger nationwide. A Washington Post/ABC News poll released last week put the former vice president 10 points ahead of Trump among registered voters.
