A Democratic congressional candidate on Wednesday compared President Trump to Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, calling him the current “greatest threat to our democracy” in a new campaign ad.
“After 9/11, the greatest threat to our democracy lived in a cave,” Dan Helmer, who is running against Rep. Barbara Comstock (R) in Virginia’s 10th District, says in the video, talking over footage of the late terrorist leader. “Today, he lives in the White House.”
“No one, even the president, is above the law,” Helmer continued.
The White House slammed the ad in a statement released Thursday, calling on Democrats including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to denounce it.
“The message sent in a campaign ad from a congressional candidate from Virginia is nothing short of reprehensible. Leaders from across the political spectrum — starting with Leader Pelosi — must swiftly condemn this abhorrent message,” said deputy press secretary Raj Shah.
{mosads}Helmer made headlines earlier this month after releasing a video of him purchasing an assault weapon at a gun show to show how easy it is for anyone to buy a high-powered weapon in the United States.
Helmer also captured attention back in September for calling out Comstock with a “Top Gun” parody campaign ad where he accused the Republican lawmaker of moving too far to the right and not holding town hall events. In a parody of the iconic bar scene from the movie, Helmer took on the role of Tom Cruise’s “Maverick.”
“I’m different. I’m not a politician,” Helmer, an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, says in the new ad. “I’m a Rhodes scholar who served in combat. I’m for a Medicare-for-all option and against drug companies that rip off seniors. I’ll fight the gun lobby to protect children, not guns.”
—Updated Thursday at 3:07 p.m.