A $2 million ad campaign trashing Donald Trump as a "very liberal" candidate playing Americans for "chumps" has been launched in Illinois by conservative political advocacy group, Club for Growth.
The organization's super PAC, Club for Growth Action, said the ads are airing on broadcast and cable TV in Illinois, one of five states holding primaries on March 15. The Trump-trashing efforts will also be extended to digital ads on the web.
"The momentum is shifting away from Donald Trump," Club for Growth Action president David McIntosh said. "Overwhelming wins by Sen. Ted Cruz in Kansas and Maine, and a delegate tie in Louisiana showed that Republican voters don't want a big-government liberal like Donald Trump at the top of the GOP ticket."
"They know that Trump would cost Republicans the White House, the Senate majority, and, ultimately, the Supreme Court."
Club for Growth has been at war for months with Trump, who counterclaims the group is after him following his refusal for a donation.
The two ads being used in the Illinois ad buy both aired previously and "successfully" in Iowa, and the first also played a "significant role" in Trump's loss in Oklahoma, McIntosh said.
"It will be no surprise to see the numbers tighten in tomorrow's primaries and caucus. As voters come to know Trump's record, they will turn to true pro-growth conservatives," he said, referring to Tuesday's GOP contests in Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi and Hawaii.
"Primary voters need to know that Trump has spent years arguing for far-left positions on taxes, health care, bailouts, and the abuse of eminent domain.
"And now he sounds like the worst kind of politician, warning voters that he will change positions when he feels like it. The shell game that is the Trump candidacy needs to be stopped."
In one ad, a narrator intones: "Which presidential candidate supports higher taxes, national health care, and the Wall Street bailout? It's Donald Trump."
Trump is then heard saying, "In many cases, I probably identify more as a Democrat."
"Trump wants us to think he's mister tell-it-like-it-is. But he has a record. And it's very liberal. He's really just playing us for chumps," the ad continues. "Trump — just another politician."
In the second spot, a narrator says: "The Supreme Court's Kelo decision gave government massive new power to take private property and give it to corporations. Conservatives have fought this disaster. What's Donald Trump say about the decision?"
Trump is heard saying: "I happen to agree with it 100 percent."
"Trump supports eminent domain abuse because he can make millions while we lose our property rights," the narrator continues. "Trump: the worst kind of politician."
There's no end in sight for the sniping between Club for Growth and Trump.
Last month, McIntosh charged that Trump's promise to force Apple to build its products in America instead of China if he is elected president violates the Constitution and the free market system. Last November, he accused Trump of touting "liberal big-government policies that Democrats embrace" simply to win votes.
"Donald Trump has turned political pandering into an art form," he said at the time. "In Iowa, Trump gave his full support to ethanol and the federal Renewable Fuel Standard, and supported a subsidy for wind energy."
And in September, McIntosh described Trump as the "worst Republican candidate on economic issues" and that "short of Bernie Sanders, he may be the most liberal candidate" in the race.
Trump, for his part, has trashed Club for Growth on Twitter, claiming it runs an "extortion" racket after they asked him for a $1 million donation that he declined to give. He labeled the group "phony" and its members "total hypocrites."
The Washington, D.C.-based Club for Growth describes itself as "a national network of over 100,000 pro-growth, limited government Americans who share in the belief that prosperity and opportunity come from economic freedom."
It has praised both Cruz of Texas and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as "two clear Constitutional conservatives."
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