The white nationalist who bankrolled robocalls for Donald Trump in early voting states during the Republican primaries will release a radio ad this weekend in support of the GOP nominee, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
William Johnson, founder of the American National super PAC and chairman of the white nationalist American Freedom Party, plans to run the ads in select swing states to gin up support for the real estate mogul ahead of Election Day. The ads were not authorized by the Trump campaign.
The language of the $7,000 buy is significantly less inflammatory than that used in the previous robocalls, which said “we don’t need Muslims” and praised Trump as the only candidate who could stop “the gradual genocide against the white race.”
Yet Johnson, who previously praised Trump to TPM as a “strong male leader,” still plays on themes familiar to white nationalists.
“Do you want a strong leader who will secure our borders and stop the flow of illegal aliens and radical Islamic terrorists?… Do you want a president who will safeguard the interests of Christians?” the ad asks, according to the Times.
The spot is expected to run in Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Alabama, Oregon, Nevada and Tennessee beginning Saturday and continue through Nov. 8, the Times reported. It is slated to air on “Liberty RoundTable” and “The Political Cesspool,” a radio show run by white nationalist James Edwards.
While Trump has, under pressure, disavowed support from the white nationalists loyal to his campaign, both radio shows are familiar to his campaign.
Donald Trump Jr. came under fire earlier this year for fielding questions from Edwards on an episode of “Liberty RoundTable,” later saying he would not have appeared on the show had he known of Edwards’ political beliefs.
Yet just this week, Eric Trump did an interview with “Liberty RoundTable” host Sam Bushman. Though Bushman does not push white nationalist ideas on his own program, he syndicates Edwards’ show and has helped promote the “Political Cesspool” host’s career.
In a statement to CNN, Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks criticized Edwards but defended Bushman’s program as a legitimate platform.
“As you know, we had no knowledge of James Edwards’ participation and strongly rebuked him,” Hicks told CNN. “Liberty Roundtable is a conservative program heard on radio stations and online, and dedicated to promoting the principles of the American founding. We would never associate with any program that was even wrongly perceived to be affiliated with a message of hate.”
Johnson told TPM that the American National PAC’s ad will run on some 20 programs in total, including “For the People with Keith Alan” and “Joyce Riley’s Power Hour.”
Listen to the ad below:
