First appeared on FOX: A leading Republican at the forefront of former President Trump's outreach to black voters is set to announce a six-figure ad buy during Thursday's CNN presidential debate to blast President Biden's “actual record on race relations.”
First-time Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas' Hellfire PAC plans to air a 60-second ad on Fox News and CNN on Thursday night in major cities in key battleground states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The ad, which highlights some of Biden's controversial comments on race, is part of Hunt's strategy to persuade black voters to support Trump in November's presidential election.
“Joe Biden's political record demonstrates a tendency to make explicitly racist statements, create and support discriminatory policies, and associate with individuals known to be racist,” Hunt told Fox News Digital in a statement.
He announced that Hellfire PAC would launch a national campaign in several battleground states “to inform voters of Joe Biden's true history on race.”
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A screenshot taken from a Hellfire PAC ad attacking President Biden's record on racial issues. (Hellfire PAC)
The Hellfire PAC video begins with Biden's vice president, Kamala Harris, questioning Biden's past opposition to school desegregation. In an infamous moment during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, then-rival Harris said Biden had worked with segregationist lawmakers against “busing” during his first term as a senator in 1975.
“You also worked with them to oppose busing,” Harris told Biden during a primary debate, referring to the two segregationist senators. “There was a little girl in California who was in the second class to integrate their public schools, and she rode the bus to school every day. And that little girl was me.”
Black Republicans hold “Congress, Cognac and Cigars” events in key battleground states
Rep. Wesley Hunt (left) and Rep. Byron Donald (right) are campaigning to win over black male voters to Donald Trump (center). (Getty Images)
The ad also questions Biden's record on civil rights, pointing out his ties to segregationist Southern Democrats such as former Senators James O. Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia. In 2019, Biden drew a firestorm of criticism by naming opponents of racial integration, while speaking fondly of the old Senate's “civility” and ability to work with people with whom he disagreed. In response to attacks from his Democratic rivals at the time, Biden said, “I don't have a racist bone in my body.”
The video cites a variety of embarrassing statements from Biden's long political career, including one in which Biden, as vice president, told an audience of black voters at a 2012 campaign event that Republicans were “going to put you back in chains.” In another insensitive gaffe, cited at a 2019 campaign event in Iowa, Biden said, “Poor kids are just as smart and talented as white kids.”
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The Trump campaign hosted a Black Business Roundtable in Atlanta, attended by Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas, far left), Rep. Byron Donald (R-Fla., center), and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson (second from right). (Matt Reidy | Fox News)
In the Hellfire ad, Biden describes former President Barack Obama, who was his running mate, as “eloquent, intelligent, clean-cut and good-looking – the first mainstream African-American candidate.”
Hunt, who is Black, told Fox News Digital that no Republican will be spared by Biden's comments.
“If you're a Republican and you have even the slightest bit of history like Joe Biden does on race, you're going to be ostracized, ignored and lambasted by the media,” he said. “Whenever a Democrat like President Joe Biden does it, there's always an excuse. When there's no excuse, the actions and policies are just shoved down the memory hole.”
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The ad will air during the CNN presidential debate in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Milwaukee and Detroit. People across the U.S. can tune into Fox News Channel from 9:00pm-11:00pm ET to watch CNN's simulcast of the presidential debate. Viewers can also tune into Fox's live coverage before and after the debate to hear expert analysis.
Hunt was in Atlanta on Wednesday for an event with Rep. Byron Donald (R-Fla.) called “Congress, Cognac and Cigars.” Moderated by former ESPN host Sage Steele, the two Black lawmakers will hold a discussion in a cigar lounge and answer questions about how Black male voters will affect the 2024 election.
In an interview with Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind, Hunt said he aims to help Republicans win 25% to 35% of the Black male vote — a difficult goal to achieve but one that would mean a near-certain defeat for Biden's campaign.
According to multiple exit polls, Trump won 19% of black male voters in 2020, but the majority of black voters still voted for Biden.
Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind, Paul Steinhauser, Joe Schofstall and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.
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