“Campaigning on Bold-Faced Lies About Our History”: Democratic National Committee Takes Aim At GOP

While spending the weekend campaigning in Iowa, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has put up four billboards criticizing Republican presidential contenders for their “anti-history record.”

Haley Fails to Mention Slavery Was the Cause of the Civil War

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The billboards, which will be located in Dubuque and Cedar Rapids, will be unveiled at the same time that Republican nominee for president Nikki Haley is being criticized for her failure to cite slavery as the reason for the Civil War during a town hall meeting in New Hampshire.

Haley Labels Voter Asking the Question as a ”Democrat Plant”

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According to the previous governor of South Carolina, “basically how government was going to run, the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do” was the reason behind the battle. The voter who posed the question, she subsequently said, was a “Democrat plant.”

DNC Launches Ad Targeting Haley for Her Comments

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Haley’s remarks are the focus of the DNC’s advertisements, which also criticize the voting histories of former President Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, two other GOP contenders. Based on an aggregate of surveys from The Hill and Decision Desk HQ, the three are leading the GOP primary field in the state right now.

A Pivotal and Dangerous Moment for American Democracy

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DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika said in a statement, “We are at a pivotal and dangerous moment for American democracy: Voters are looking on at a GOP primary with three frontrunners who are so subsumed by the MAGA takeover of their party that they are campaigning on an agenda to whitewash slavery, ban books, and tell bold-faced lies about our history.”

Billboard Claims “MAGA’s America” Includes Whitewashing Slavery

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The billboards include a picture of Trump, Haley, and DeSantis and read, “MAGA’s America”—which includes repeating Hitler, whitewashing slavery, erasing history, and outlawing literature. During the first presidential debate of the 2020 election cycle, Trump refrained from denouncing far-right organizations and white supremacists. Later, he recanted his remarks and claimed to have “many times” opposed all white racists.

Trump’s Remark Echoes the Rhetoric of Adolf Hitler

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This month, Trump asserted throughout several campaign rallies that immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country.” The comment has drawn criticism for echoing Adolf Hitler’s claims in “Mein Kampf” that Jews were tainting German blood. Subsequently, the former president declared he is “not a student of Hitler” and denied having meant any racist connotation with his remarks.

Florida Under DeSantis’s Leadership

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Under DeSantis’s direction, Florida was the first of many red states to pass legislation facilitating parental challenge rights to the books kept in school libraries. This initiative has focused mostly on books that address topics related to LGBTQ history and culture as well as racial representation.

DeSantis Claims the Backlash Against Him Is “In Bad Faith”

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In reaction to Florida’s updated school rules on teaching slavery, which direct instructors to teach kids about “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit,” DeSantis has also come under fire. The governor has stood by the regulations, claiming that the criticism of him is being directed “in bad faith.”

Republican Presidential Candidates Continue Campaigning

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In the upcoming days, Haley will stop in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, and Cedar Falls. Before having a meet-and-greet with Governor Kim Reynolds (R) in Elkader this week, DeSantis will make an appearance in Davenport. Given that the Iowa caucuses are scheduled to take place on January 15, the Republican contenders for president are probably going to keep up their campaigns in the early-voting state.

DNC’s Jab at Trump

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A multilingual mobile billboard was placed around the site by the Democratic National Committee in November to poke fun at the front-runner who wasn’t present: former President Donald Trump.

We Almost Forgot About the Debate

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The DNC exclusively shared the billboard message with ABC News. It mostly addresses Trump and his supposed failings, and it also teasingly ends with, “We almost forgot about the debate…”, a jab at the former president for sapping the life out of the Republican contest.

United Around Ripping Away as Many of Our Freedoms as They Can

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“As Donald Trump and 2024 Republicans head to Florida for their next MAGA-off, we’re reminding voters that beyond the chaos and squabbling you’ll see tonight, the entire 2024 field is united around ripping away as many of our freedoms as they can,” Marco Frieri, a spokesperson for the DNC, told ABC News.