Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) is fighting to keep her Senate seat against a challenge from Congressman and fellow ally of President Donald Trump, Doug Collins—and a new ad shows just how far she's willing to go to seem like the more conservative candidate.
Loeffler was appointed to the Senate by Georgia governor Brian Kemp in 2019 after the resignation of former Senator Johnny Isakson.
Georgia's special 2020 election is the first time Loeffler will see if voters think of her as favorably as Kemp did when appointing her, or if they'll side with Rep. Collins, whose performances during House Judiciary Committee hearings and impeachment proceedings established him nationally as one of Trump's most vocal allies.
Loeffler's latest ad doubles down on her fealty to the President, referencing her as "more conservative as Attila the Hun.'
Watch below.
Now here's an ad for you: Sen. Kelly Loeffler's new spot is all about how she's "more conservative than Attila the Hun," and includes an actor portraying a grunting Attila who delivers orders to, among other things, "eliminate the liberal scribes." pic.twitter.com/080nIJGwng
— Jacob Rubashkin (@JacobRubashkin) September 21, 2020
The ad features a couple on their living room couch watching coverage of Loeffler on the news, when one says:
"She's more conservative than Attila the Hun."
It then cuts to a gibberish-speaking Attila the Hun barking orders to one of his servants. Among the orders is "eliminate the liberal scribes." The ad then touts Loeffler's "100% Trump voting record."
People were baffled by the ad.
Wait, wait -- this is an ad *for* Loeffler? https://t.co/nszQtWumLw
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) September 21, 2020
Sen. Kelly Loeffler shows off her historical ignorance and compares herself to one of the most famous enemies of Western Civilization to "own the libs" https://t.co/Tr3s5jUQnp
— Hayden Daniel (@HaydenWDaniel) September 21, 2020
This is a Geico commercial. https://t.co/uUUzszqEGP
— Nathaniel Rakich (@baseballot) September 21, 2020
Is this the worst campaign advertisement you've ever seen?
pic.twitter.com/a1dafHUFaH
— Molly Jong-Fast🏡 (@MollyJongFast) September 21, 2020
Underrated dumbest part of all this is that Loeffller confused Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan. Attila the Hun didn't fight China, but Genghis Khan did.
That's one of those things the “liberal scribes" she wants to “eliminate" might have been able to tell her. https://t.co/ZTsK9Ybqlp
— Matt O'Brien (@ObsoleteDogma) September 21, 2020
While the comparison to Attila the Hun was certainly bizarre, others were concerned about the video's promise to "eliminate the liberal scribes," which many took to imply that Loeffler was fomenting her supporters to target journalists.
US senator advocates for killing journalists. Hilarious. https://t.co/Da9Zyyspml
— Kevin Baron (@DefenseBaron) September 21, 2020
the ideal senator, according to someone trying to win conservative votes, is "jokingly" to the right of a despot saying "attack big government" and "murder people whose politics I disagree with" https://t.co/73tHXCtqCj
— Adam Serwer🍝 (@AdamSerwer) September 21, 2020
You know it's “funny" because they joke about killing journalists, a real thing that keeps happening, and then turn right into the camera and say UH-OH. https://t.co/7epzNRGFQX
— Daniel Kibblesmith (@kibblesmith) September 21, 2020
I *think* this campaign ad for a sitting US Senator includes a very funny, haha, wink-wink nudge-nudge joke about murdering members of the press? https://t.co/35wHGmO6yC
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) September 21, 2020
Loeffler, whose husband owns a significant portion of the New York Stock Exchange, made headlines this year when documents revealed that she'd invested in teleworking software and divested a significant portion of her stocks after a closed door Senate briefing regarding the virus. The briefing occurred in the early stages of the outbreak, before the stock market saw a significant drop in response to nationwide closures.