Democrat group betting on anti-ICE fear in new campaign ad targeting young men
The Progress Action Fund has gained attention for its risqué viral ads featuring a fictional "Republican congressman" who invades private moments in bedrooms, bathrooms and hospitals to enforce so-called conservative policies, such as stopping sex, abortion or denying care to Medicare patients.
The new clip features a couple on a date, comprised of a White male with blonde hair, while the woman has darker skin and black hair.
"I had a really good time today," the man says in the video. The woman begins to respond, "I did too," before they are both forcefully restrained by masked agents, and the woman is dragged away.
A voice says off-screen as the couple is being dragged apart, "She's coming with us."
"What are you talking about? Who are you?" the man yells.
Then, an older White man with white hair steps onto the screen, "I'm your Republican congressman. Now that we're in charge, we're rounding up illegals."
The man yells as the woman continues to shriek, "She was born here, she's a citizen."
"I don't care. She looks like one of them," the "Republican congressman" responds. "But don't worry, when she's in prison in El Salvador, she'll have lots of company."
The ad ends with a reference to President Donald Trump speaking to El Salvadorian President Nayyib Bukele at the White House earlier this year, suggesting he was open to sending "homegrown" criminals to the foreign country's prisons alongside non-American deportees.
Joe Jacobson, an Obama administration alumnus who founded and runs Progress Action Fund, told Fox News Digital that his PAC's testing shows the ad will be potent with young men.
"We found that after seeing the ad, young men – you know, I'm 31 and our target demo is to win back young men in 2026 after they flipped to Trump by 30 points – and what we found is that it moves the needle for Democrats, making young men under 30 support Democrats and view them favorably, by about four points," Jacobson said in an interview.
"And that's not that's not easy, given the Democratic Party hasn't found a message for young men, and reaching them and engaging them."
Republicans and the White House dismissed the ad as "fear-mongering."
Democrats have been wrestling to find a cohesive message to voters after the 2024 election – particularly young men, who narrowly went to Trump after former President Joe Biden won the demographic in 2020.
However, Jacobson said ads that set tones line Progress Action Fund's latest clip would be potent.
"If you're a young man, and you're dating or looking for a girlfriend, the last thing you want is for, you know, secret police, ICE agents coming in and taking away your girlfriend that's an American citizen just because she looks a Latino person or whoever the ICE officials are racially profiling," Jacobson said.
He pointed out that immigration has been a key issue for Republican platforms for years – and said this time, Democrats would seize that momentum given Trump's harsh policies.
"This has always been an issue, and Donald Trump has weaponized immigration even more. And, you know, he has some mandate. He told people that he wanted to deport criminals who are breaking the law, violent criminals, who are immigrants, and people are down for that. Democrats are down for that, too," Jacobson said.
"But he does not have a mandate for deporting people who are, you know, working at hotels, on farms or auto shops."
It comes amid protests across multiple Democratic cities against Trump's Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdown.
However, immigration and border security proved potent issues for Republicans across the country in 2024, as cities beyond the U.S.-Mexico border felt strain that the GOP has blamed on Biden administration border policies.
It forced top Democratic officials to pivot toward more conservative stances on illegal immigrant criminals and illegal immigration in general.
However, the Progressive Action Fund is betting on Trump's response benefiting the left ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Jacobson said his group's investment in the ad was in the "mid-six-figure range" and that it would hit social media first, before getting more targeted placement in swing states and districts.
Both the National Republican Congressional Committee and the White House panned the ad when reached for comment.
"Democrats have completely lost the plot if they think a creepy, incoherent ad like this is going to win over young voters. Not a single person is falling for this pathetic, fear-mongering nonsense," NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital, "It would be more efficient for Democrats to just light their money on fire instead of spending it fear-mongering with a silly ad no one takes seriously. This is clearly just a sad attempt to distract from the violent Democrat rioters in LA who want to keep criminal illegal aliens in American communities."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump hopes China will quickly quadruple its US soybean orders
By Ella Cao, Lewis Jackson and Chandni Shah (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he hoped China would quadruple its soybean orders from the U.S, adding that it was also "a way of substantially reducing" Beijing's trade deficit with Washington. "China is worried about its shortage of soybeans. Our great farmers produce the most robust soybeans. I hope China will quickly quadruple its soybean orders. This is also a way of substantially reducing China's Trade Deficit with the USA. Rapid service will be provided. Thank you President XI," Trump said on Truth Social. A tariff truce between Beijing and Washington is set to expire on August 12, but the Trump administration has hinted that the deadline may be extended. China, which takes more than 60% of soybeans shipped worldwide, buys the oilseed mainly from Brazil and the United States. The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 2.13% at $10.08 a bushel at 0446 GMT, having been little changed before Trump's post. China imported roughly 105 million metric tons of soybeans last year, just under a quarter coming from the U.S. and the remainder from Brazil. Quadrupling shipments would require China to import the bulk of its soybeans from the U.S. "It's highly unlikely that China would ever buy four times its usual volume of soybeans from the U.S.," Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting, said. It is unclear if securing China's agreement to buy more U.S. soybeans is a condition for extending the trade truce. China's Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The country has steadily reduced its reliance on U.S. soybeans in recent years, shifting more purchases to South America. Under the Phase One trade deal signed during Trump's first term, China agreed to boost purchases of U.S. agricultural products, including soybeans. However, Beijing ultimately fell far short of meeting those targets. This year, amid Washington–Beijing trade tensions, it has yet to buy any fourth quarter U.S. beans, fuelling concerns as the U.S. harvest export season approaches. "On Beijing's side, there have been quite a few signals that China is prepared to forego U.S. soybeans altogether this year, including booking those test cargoes of soymeal from Argentina," said Even Rogers Pay, an agricultural analyst at Trivium China. Reuters previously reported that Chinese feedmakers have purchased three Argentine soymeal cargoes as they aim to secure cheaper South American supplies amid concerns about a possible soybean supply disruption in the fourth quarter. U.S. soybean industry has been seeking alternative buyers, but no other country matches China's scale. Last year, China imported 22.13 million tons of soybeans from the U.S., and 74.65 million tons from Brazil. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CBS News
8 minutes ago
- CBS News
Sacramento city leaders to consider sending letter of opposition over Natomas development plans
A Sacramento housing clash is pitting the city council against the board of supervisors over a massive Natomas development. A city hall formal letter of opposition could stop supervisors from approving the plans. "So it's unusual for the city of Sacramento to oppose a county of Sacramento project," Sacramento Councilmember Karina Talamantes said. Talamantes supports the unusual move to send the letter to the county to stop a massive housing development called the Upper Westside Plan. "Housing is not the issue for me, for me it's the communication, or lack thereof, communication to the residents in Natomas," Talamantes said. Talamantes said the county is breaking a Natomas joint vision agreement with the city that called on the county to preserve the space and leave the city to develop it. The Upper Westside Plan between El Centro Road and the Sacramento River would include more than 9,000 housing units, three elementary schools and a high school, and be home to 25,000 new residents. Josh Harmatz lives along the Garden Highway and is concerned that all the new homes and businesses will triple the traffic on this narrow two-lane levee road. "There's just no room and there's no shoulder for this amount of traffic," Harmatz said. Project supporters say the development will create much-needed housing for the Sacramento region. Now, the city of Sacramento, awarded a pro-housing designation from the state, is preparing a formal opposition to this housing plan. "That will be to be determined," Talamantes said when asked what impact the letter of opposition would have. "But the city and county working together is the best thing that can happen for the residents of Sacramento." The city council will vote on sending that letter of opposition this week. The board of supervisors is set to vote on that development on Aug. 20.
Bloomberg
8 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Nvidia China Chip Payments, Tax Hike Hurts Jobs, Private Credit's Losers
Your morning briefing, the business news you need in just 15 minutes. On today's podcast: (1) Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices agreed to pay 15% of their revenues from Chinese AI chip sales to the US government in a deal to secure export licenses, an unusual arrangement that may unnerve both US companies and Beijing. (2) European nations are seeking to talk to Donald Trump ahead of the US president's planned meeting in Alaska with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, according to people familiar with the matter. (3) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended his plan for a military sweep against the final Hamas strongholds in Gaza, calling it the best available option for recovering hostages while safeguarding his country's long-term security — an argument that's met vocal opposition at home and abroad. (4) It was a 'trailblazing' project - and for the two small pension funds that helped finance it, a chance to prop up the retirement savings of dentists and pharmacists in rural northern Germany. We look at Germany's biggest property crash since the financial crisis. (5) The UK jobs market weakened across the board in July as employers cut their payroll budgets in response to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves' £26 billion ($34.9 billion) tax increase, according to a survey closely monitored by the Bank of England. (6) European Central Bank officials will wait until December to deliver their next interest-rate cut in what is likely to be the final move in the cycle, a Bloomberg survey showed.
