Ryan Nicol
A new Spanish language ad from Democratic candidate Donna Shalala is going after her opponent in Florida’s 27th Congressional District over previous tweets praising President Donald Trump.
Former broadcaster Maria Elvira Salazar earned the Republican nomination in the heavily Hispanic district back in August. Now, Shalala is attempting to tie her to the President in a new ad titled, “The Trump Cheerleader.”
“Maria Elvira Salazar: Trump’s greatest cheerleader,” the ad’s narrator begins.
“Praising him…”
That’s when a woman’s voice, imagined to be that of Salazar, pops in reading out her tweet to Trump.
“Bravo, Trump!”
“…an ally of his.”
“Bravo, Trump!”
“Meanwhile, Trump attempts to eliminate millions’ access to health care and raise our premiums. Maria ‘Bravo, Trump!’ Salazar encouraged him. Enough with Trump’s cheerleaders. We need a leader.
“Donna Shalala. Working to improve health care. Shalala has the strength to face Trump and achieve big things for us.”
A request for comment from the Salazar campaign regarding the new ad is pending.
The Shalala campaign also released a statement bolstering their efforts to tie the two together.
“Salazar claims to be a moderate, but regularly sides with Trump and his Republican enablers,” said Mike Hernandez, a campaign spokesperson.
“The ad underscores that while Donald Trump pushed terrible policies, such as pushing Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would have resulted in increased premiums and eliminated access to health care for millions of Americans, including those with pre-existing conditions, Salazar encourages him.”
It’s true that Salazar has used the phrase, “Bravo #Trump” two times in the past on Twitter. Both were in 2017.
One tweet thanked Trump for calling for the release of Venezuelan political prisoner Leopoldo Lopez.
My friend @LeopoldoLopez is poster child of Venezuelan opposition Bravo #Trump for standing up for him. My comments on @FoxBusiness @cvpayne pic.twitter.com/05UnCsUHF5
— María Elvira Salazar 🇺🇸 (@MaElviraSalazar) February 17, 2017
The second stems from Trump’s 2017 speech to Congress, in which he called for “real and positive immigration reform.” Salazar echoed those comments, adding, “Looking forward to concrete details.”
https://twitter.com/MaElviraSalazar/status/836772742531792899
As of yet, no comprehensive immigration plan has been settled on, as Trump has often continued his harsh rhetoric on the subject.
The ad attempts to tie Salazar’s “Bravo #Trump” phrase to the issue of health care, arguing Salazar “encouraged” Trump’s failed efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. But Salazar never used those words in a statement on ACA repeal, according to a search of her Twitter account.
On health care, Salazar has called to “repeal crushing Obama-era taxes and needless regulations.” However, according to the Miami Herald, Salazar opposed the GOP’s ACA repeal absent the proposal of a “viable alternative.” Salazar also said she would “not support removing pre-existing conditions from coverage options.”
