New York: Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's much-awaited first TV ad features a promise that once he is at the helm he will "quickly cut" ISIS' head and "take their oil".
Trump's ad begins with a shot of President Obama and Hillary Clinton. Then comes a US battleship launching a cruise-missile strike. It moves swiftly through an explosive montage -- the suspects in the recent California terrorist attack, shadowy figures racing across the US-Mexico border and Islamic State militants.
The narrator, a deep-voiced man, speaks ominously, "That's why he's calling for a temporary shutdown of Muslims entering the United States, until we can figure out what's going on. He'll quickly cut the head off ISIS and take their oil. And he'll stop illegal immigration by building a wall on our southern border that Mexico will pay for."
The spot closes with the image of 69-year-old Trump thundering at one of his rallies, "We will make America great again!" The Republican presidential candidate's long-awaited and hotly anticipated first ad titled 'Great Again', shared exclusively with The Washington Post, is set to be aired as part of a series that will air in the final month before the Iowa caucuses.
Trump has vowed to spend at least USD 2 million a week on the ads -- an amount that will be amplified by the countless times they are likely to be played on cable news and across social media.
The decision to air television ads-- which Trump hinted at for months, though the billionaire real estate magnate has has been loath to spend more than he deems necessary -- represents a tightly produced new act for a candidate who has fed largely off free media attention, the Post said.
Trump has said that he has six to eight ads in production and that his was a "major buy and it's going to go on for months." He said he hopes the spots impress upon undecided voters that the country has become "a dumping ground".
"The world is laughing at us, at our stupidity. It's got to stop. We've got to get smart fast -- or else we won't have a country," he was quoted as saying. Trump said he concluded that he may end up regretting not spending more of his own money to secure the nomination.
He said he recalled thinking, "I'm USD 35 million to USD 40 million under budget, and to be honest, I don't think I need (ads) because I have such a big lead. But I don't want to take any chances, and I almost feel guilty not spending money."
The first ad makes clear that Trump's closing pitch to voters will be as visceral and arresting as the one he delivers at raucous rallies.
