Hillary Clinton released her first television ad against Donald Trump on Wednesday, targeting the divisiveness and violence that surround his presidential campaign.
The 30-second spot is set to air in New York ahead of the state's April 19 primary.
For Clinton, the ad comes as a benchmark in the race: Aides have wrestled with the question of how aggressively to approach Trump, who has also unleashed blistering personal attacks on his rivals, while still caught between a primary and the general election. Though the narration doesn't mention Trump by name, the ad amounts to her campaign's first piece of paid media dedicated to the GOP frontrunner.
The ad begins with images of a diverse and resilient New York, with Clinton narrating over an image of the Freedom Tower. "New York. Twenty million people strong," Clinton says. "No, we don’t all look the same. We don’t all sound the same, either. But when we pull together, we do the biggest things in the world."
The screen flashes to a sign outside a construction site for a Trump hotel: "Coming 2016," it reads. Below, on the sign, the top half of the name "TRUMP" is visible.
"So, when some say we can solve America’s problems by building walls, banning people based on their religion, and turning against each other — well, this is New York. And we know better," Clinton says, referring to Trump's controversial proposals and to the violence he hasn't discouraged at his events this year. The ad shows grainy footage from the rally where a Trump supporter sucker-punched a protester.
Clinton is slated to make her first campaign appearance in New York on Wednesday, where she will expand on the points made in the ad, a campaign aide said. Clinton, a former U.S. senator from New York, is preparing to campaign energetically in the state against Sen. Bernie Sanders.