Trump campaign used word 'invasion' in more than 2,000 Facebook ads

Spreading hate.
 By 
Marcus Gilmer
 on 
Trump campaign used word 'invasion' in more than 2,000 Facebook ads
Immigrants like this boy are the target of Trump's hateful rhetoric. Credit: ALFREDO ESTRELLA / AFP / Getty Images

The shooting suspect in El Paso, Texas, warned of an “invasion” in a racist internet screed before allegedly killing 22 people.

Another person fond of the term: President Donald Trump, whose re-election campaign published more than 2,000 Facebook ads using the word “invasion” since January, according to the New York Times.

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Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Before the 2018 midterm elections, when he ranted about "caravans" of immigrants from Central America, Trump also ran racist ads. At least one of them was actually removed by Facebook because it was so awful.

Trump's ads have come under closer scrutiny this week following Saturday's mass shooting. The Times reports that Trump's re-election campaign has spent close to $1.25 million on anti-immigration ads since March 2019, per a report from the Democratic communications firm Bully Pulpit Interactive.

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

After a lull in April and May, Bully Pulpit reports Trump's spending on anti-immigration Facebook ads has risen again this summer, surpassing $100,000 in five of the last seven weeks.

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Trump condemned racism and hate in a brief speech Monday morning. But the very long list of racist comments in his past expose some serious cognitive dissonance. Now we’ll see if a white supremacist mass murderer using the word "invasion" is enough to stop Trump from using it in his Facebook ads.

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Marcus Gilmer

Marcus Gilmer is Mashable's Assistant Real-Times News Editor on the West Coast, reporting on breaking news from his location in San Francisco. An Alabama native, Marcus earned his BA from Birmingham-Southern College and his MFA in Communications from the University of New Orleans. Marcus has previously worked for Chicagoist, The A.V. Club, the Chicago Sun-Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.

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