In 1964, incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson faced a challenge to his seat at the executive table in the form Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater. The race was never really that close, with Johnson capturing the whole of the country save for six states that voted for Goldwater’s ticket. The 486-52 rout is one of the most lopsided electoral vote margins in U.S. history and it’s not unreasonable to think that part of the reason for Johnson’s decisive victory came in the form of a controversial, one-off attack ad against Goldwater that seems to have served as inspiration for a recent ad aimed at Donald Trump by a pro-Hillary Clinton super-PAC.
The ad, produced by Priorities USA Action, features clips of Donald Trump talking about war and nuclear weapons and the importance these things carry with him. Mixed in with clips of the devastation and suffering caused by war, Donald Trump is painted as a man obsessed with that suffering. “I’m really good at war,” Trump says to a crowd in Fort Dodge, Iowa. “I love war in a certain way.”
“Including with nukes, yes, including with nukes.” Donald Trump’s voice is heard resonating over images of nuclear blasts and the devastation caused by them.
“I know more about ISIS than the generals do, believe me,” he boasts to that same Fort Dodge audience, followed by images of ISIS flags and mobilized fighters.
“Nuclear, the power, the devastation, is very important to me,” Trump confesses with admiration for his subject just before a house is blown away in the nuclear test.
It ends with the most damning line in the whole ad. Trump’s obsession with warfare and nuclear weapons takes one a far more sinister tone when he triumphantly states:
“I want to be unpredictable.”
Keep in mind that even though this is an attack ad by a pro-Hillary Clinton super-PAC, it’s not like Donald Trump hasn’t insinuated that there exists a very real possibility he would be the second-ever world leader to use nuclear weapons to take down an enemy aggressor. Donald Trump with the nuclear launch codes is definitely a frightening idea, considering his rhetoric and his self-professed presidential style:
“I want to be unpredictable.”
Featured image is in the public domain.
h/t Mother Jones
