Can an advertisement incite violence? Sarah Palin sure doesn’t think so. But the National Rifle Association’s latest ad has drawn criticism for its belligerent tone about the need to “save our country” juxtaposed against scenes of recent anti-Trump protests.
Per Newsweek, the ad, which ran on the NRA’s Facebook page and has been viewed nearly 3.2 million times, calls on current members (and future ones) to defend President Trump and “fight this violence of lies with the clenched fist of truth.”
These “lies,” according to NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch, who bitterly reads the script in the video, come from “liberal” media, schools, movie stars, singers, comedians, awards shows, President Obama, and protestors.
As ThinkProgress has reported, the video has been around since April, when it was played at the NRA’s Leadership Forum.
Rep. Don Beyer, a Virginia Democrat, accused the NRA of exploiting the recent Congressional baseball game shooting for its own financial benefit.
So they’re trying to exploit Alexandria and cutting disgusting ads to make people afraid and divide people even more https://t.co/u2yLWVarjt
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) June 29, 2017
Watch the video above.
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