Priorities USA ad rips Trump's 'f--- themselves' quote way out of context

Donald Trump's attitude toward women has been a major issue in the 2016 presidential campaign since Megyn Kelly grilled him about some of his negative comments at the GOP’s first presidential debate.

With Trump as the presumptive Republican nominee, Priorities USA, a pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC, has released a commercial called "Speak" showing people — all but one of them a woman — wearing T-shirts with Trump images mouthing some of the comments the billionaire has used when referring to women.

The quotes:

"You know you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever."

"Does she have a good body? No. Does she have a fat ass? Absolutely."

"You like girls that are 5-foot-1? They come up to you-know-where."

"If Ivanka weren't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her." (with an image a father and daughter)

"And you can tell them to go f--- themselves."

In the last quote, the expletive is bleeped out, but it’s clear what word the woman in the ad is mouthing.

The ad then asks, "Does Donald Trump really speak for you?"

Apparently, the "f--- themselves" portion of the ad doesn't speak for Trump either, at least when it comes to referring to women.

Our partners at the Political TV Ad Archive helped us identify that Trump's voice in that quote was taken from an Feb. 4, 2016, speech he made in New Hampshire. His comment dealt with businesses leaving the United States, not women.

"We're going to bring businesses back. We're going to have businesses that are now in Mexico come back to New Hampshire and you can tell them to go f--- themselves," Trump said. "Because they let you down, and they left."

Trump clearly mouths the expletive, but he says the word very softly, if at all. Watch for yourself.

When we contacted Priorities USA, spokesman Justin Barasky said, "we never claimed it was a reference to women at all."

That ad "wasn't just about Donald Trump's overt sexism. It was actually about how divisive he is and how his character is that of someone who should never be president of the United States," he said. "In no way do we ever claim he was saying that to women. There is no fast one trying to be pulled."

However, at the very end, when the announcer asks, "Does Donald Trump really speak for you?" the images of seven women — and no men — flash across the screen.

The super PAC said it plans to spend $6 million airing that ad and a companion Trump attack ad in Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Nevada over a three-week period. The second ad focuses exclusively on women's issues.

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Instagram posts

stated on October 10, 2024 in a post

“Univision accidentally shows that Kamala Harris is reading from a teleprompter live on air.”

In a news release announcing the ad buy, Priorities USA, said, "Our paid media campaign starts by highlighting (Trump's) divisive views on women."

Trump, in a tweet about the ad, complained that he wasn't talking about women in the clip, although he mistakenly said he was referring to China.

Actually, that was a mistake, too. The clear context was about businesses that left for places like Mexico.

Our ruling

Priorities USA, in an anti-Trump ad, quotes the candidate as saying, "And you can tell them to go (bleep) themselves." It comes after multiple comments critical of women.

The super PAC says the sound clip wasn't meant to be taken as a reference to women.

That, as Trump might say, is a huuuuuuuge stretch.

The ad is all about women.

It features seven women and two men, only one of whom has a speaking role. All of the mouthed phrases — except the one in question — clearly attack, criticize or make disturbing references to women.

The ad offers no indication that the "f--- themselves" line refers to anything but women. In fact, it refers to businesses that left the United States.

The statement in the ad represents a ridiculous misrepresentation of what Trump said. We rate it Pants on Fire!

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