The country’s largest gun rights group is fighting back at the New York Times in a new attack ad trashing the national paper for “glossing over” facts and picking sides against President Donald Trump.
On Monday, the National Rifle Association released a video slamming the country’s second-largest newspaper for an ad it placed during the Oscars Sunday night. The paper’s promotional ad, its first since 2010, vowed to bring “truth” in an age of misinformation.
“The truth is, our nation is more divided than ever,” the 30-second spot says. “The truth is, the truth is more important than ever.”
The NRA did not take well to the ad, countering it quickly with a counter-ad created in the same format.
“America has stopped looking to the New York Times for truth, now more than ever,” the NRA ad reads. “America has stopped looking to the New York Times for the truth.”
The NRA spot questions why the truth is necessary now as opposed to the last eight years when the Tea Party was marching, jobs were declining, policies were failing, and when Obama was lying.
The ad implies the Times is siding with liberal causes, choosing to remain less critical of Democratic issues and instead focus on problems with Republicans and the Trump administration.
The NRA’s new ad is part of its latest campaign to rally with Trump and to take a stance fighting back against the media. Last week, the group pledged to be a fervent supporter of Trump and his policies.
“Donald Trump will need every ounce of energy we can muster and he has no more powerful ally than the NRA,” said NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre.
The gun rights organization donated over $30 million to Trump’s campaign last year, more than any other outside group.
Trump has reciprocated the love for the NRA, which has over 5 million members nationwide.
The president praised the group at last week’s CPAC meeting, vowing to protect the Second Amendment and giving a special shoutout to the pro-gun group.
“The NRA has been a great supporter,” Trump said. “They love our country.”
The video is another chapter in the ongoing saga between conservatives and the media. Trump has made headlines for dissing mainstream news organizations as “fake news” and shut out several news organizations like the Times, CNN and POLITICO from a White House press gaggle last week.
View the video below:
Reach Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
