Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) used footage from news coverage of terror attacks in Paris in a TV ad released Monday that sought to tie his gubernatorial opponent, John Bel Edwards (D), to President Barack Obama’s policy on Syrian refugees.
The 30-second spot opened with the sound of explosions outside the Stade de France, where suicide bombs were detonated as part of coordinated attacks Friday across the City of Light that left at least 129 dead.
“David Vitter warned Obama the dangers of Syrian refugees weeks ago, and promised as governor, no Syrian refugees will enter Louisiana,” the narrator said in the ad. “John Bel Edwards has promised to work with Obama to bring Syrian refugees to Louisiana.”
An anonymous source following ad spend in Louisiana confirmed to The Huffington Post that the ad aired on TV, but further details of the Vitter campaign’s buy were unclear.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that just 14 Syrian nationals have been relocated to Louisiana since Jan. 1.
Edwards responded to Vitter’s ad by pointing to a hearing on Syrian refugee resettlement that the senator appeared to have missed this year, in addition to two more hearings on Syria that Vitter appeared to have missed while serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“Saturday, immediately after the attacks on Paris, I called for a complete stop to the entry of Syrian refugees in Louisiana,” Edwards said in an emailed statement. “When David had the opportunity to actually make something happen, he didn’t. He has missed every important hearing on this issue. Louisiana already has an absentee governor, and now it seems our absentee Senator failed to do his duty as well.”
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This post has been updated.
