--- title: Trump Ad Slams Democrats After White Supremacist Rally description: An ad by President Trump's campaign called Democrats and media "opponents" and "enemies." It ran after the violent rally in Charlottesville canonical: https://time.com/4898644/trump-campaign-ad-charlottesville-protest/ author: Jennifer Calfas article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-13T18:58:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:09.487Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump Calls Democrats and the Media His 'Enemies' in New Campaign Ad og:description: Some people have called the timing of the ad inappropriate og:url: https://time.com/4898644/trump-campaign-ad-charlottesville-protest/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c8ea44d0c34df6f/6988d98197cdfffb3a6b2005/trump-ad-media-attack.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2786 og:image:height: 1567 og:image:alt: trump-ad-media-attack og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump Calls Democrats and the Media His 'Enemies' in New Campaign Ad twitter:description: Some people have called the timing of the ad inappropriate twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c8ea44d0c34df6f/6988d98197cdfffb3a6b2005/trump-ad-media-attack.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Calls Democrats and the Media His 'Enemies' in New Campaign Ad > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Charlottesville Victim Identified as 32-Year-Old Woman Who Stood Up Against 'Hate & Bigotry' [Watch (HLS stream): Charlottesville Victim Identified as 32-Year-Old Woman Who Stood Up Against 'Hate & Bigotry'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1PQMPYyE.m3u8) (1:17)  _Published 2017-08-13. Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer called the killing of a 32-year-old woman and the injury of others by a vehicle at a rally in the city a "terrorist attack with a car used as a weapon."_ by [Jennifer Calfas](https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Aug 13, 2017 6:58 PM UTC  Donald J. Trump for President/YouTube by [Jennifer Calfas](https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Aug 13, 2017 6:58 PM UTC A new ad from President Donald Trump’s [campaign](http://time.com/4761296/president-trump-campaign-100-days-advertisement/) that decries Democrats, the media and career politicians as his “opponents” and “enemies” — and some are criticizing it for what they say is tone-deaf timing. The targeted ad ran just a day after the president called for unity following what he said was violence and bigotry “on many sides” when [a deadly white supremacist rally](http://time.com/4898118/state-of-emergency-declared-as-violent-clashes-in-charlottesville-continue/?xid=homepage) broke out in [Charlottesville, Va.](http://time.com/4898560/virginia-governor-terry-mcauliffe-church-speech-transcript/), over the removal of a Confederate monument. The ad accuses Democrats and the media of “standing in the way” of Trump’s policies, which are portrayed as widely supported Americans. But while Trump has maintained much of his base support, he has also had consistently low approval rating throughout his presidency. Last week, his approval rating [hit](http://time.com/4892348/donald-trump-policies-polling/) 37%, according to Gallup. The ad specifically points to achievements like job creation, military power and a record-high Dow industrial average. However, some people on social media have questioned the timing of such an ad that uses stronger language against Democrats and the media than Trump used against white supremacists and neo-Nazis on Saturday. As white supremacists carried flags with swastikas and waved Confederate flags in Charlottesville on Saturday, a man drove a car directly into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing 32-year-old [Heather Heyer](http://time.com/4898643/charlottesville-virginia-rally-victim-heather-heyer/) and injuring at least 19 others. Additionally, a Virginia State Police helicopter crashed while assisting law enforcement efforts during the rally, killing two troopers. While many Republican and Democratic politicians called the violence incited by the white supremacists domestic terrorism and denounced Nazism, Trump [spoke out against](http://time.com/4898422/charlottesville-white-nationalist-donald-trump/?xid=homepage) what he saw as “this display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.” Politicians on both sides of the aisle urged Trump to make a more direct statement targeting white supremacy and Nazism. As presidents typically fill the role of uplifting a nation with unifying remarks after tragedy strikes, Trump’s comments on the violent rally were especially scrutinized since some of the white supremacists who attended wore red “Make America Great Again” hats and claimed to be promoting Trump’s agenda. In light of the criticism, the White House released an additional statement Sunday. “The President said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry and hatred and of course that includes white Supremacists, KKK, neo-nazi and all extremist groups,” a White House spokesperson said. “He called for national unity and bringing all Americans together.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4898644/trump-campaign-ad-charlottesville-protest/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4898644/trump-campaign-ad-charlottesville-protest/"},"headline":"President Trump Calls Democrats and the Media His 'Enemies' in New Campaign Ad","datePublished":"2017-08-13T18:58:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:54:09.487Z","description":"Some people have called the timing of the ad inappropriate","url":"https://time.com/4898644/trump-campaign-ad-charlottesville-protest/","keywords":["White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c8ea44d0c34df6f/6988d98197cdfffb3a6b2005/trump-ad-media-attack.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jennifer Calfas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8c8ea44d0c34df6f/6988d98197cdfffb3a6b2005/trump-ad-media-attack.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"trump-ad-media-attack","caption":"","creditText":"Donald J. 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