Ahead of mid-terms, Donald Trump posts racist new ad to boost win

Donald Trump. Pic/AFP

Days before the crucial mid-term elections, US President Donald Trump has posted a divisive campaign advertisement on his Twitter account which he hopes would boost the Republican party's campaign.

The controversial video, now pinned to the top of his social media feed, blames the Democrats for "letting in" Luis Bracamontes - an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who killed two police officers in Sacramento in 2014.

Bracamontes, who had previously been deported twice, was sentenced to death for the murders earlier this year. The video - produced for the Trump campaign - and posted by President Trump, shows Bracamontes grinning in court and threatening to "kill more cops soon".

The ad recalls the notorious "Willie Horton" campaign ad financed by supporters of the George HW Bush campaign in the 1988 presidential election.

The ad has since come to be seen as one of the most racially problematic in modern political history since it played into white fear and African-American stereotypes. The Trump campaign's ad, while just as shocking as the Horton spot, carries added weight since, unlike its 1988 predecessor, it bears the official endorsement of the leader of the Republican Party and is not an outside effort.

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