Kentucky Democrat Amy McGrath’s campaign rolled out a new ad attacking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) filled with racist digs and false claims that have been debunked on multiple occasions by fact checkers.
McGrath’s ad claims that Leader McConnell’s trade deals during his time in the upper chamber have “made China richer” and made the regime’s military stronger. The ad continues on to perpetuate a widely-debunked narrative that Leader McConnell “made millions” off of China, referring to his wife, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao’s heritage and monetary inheritance.
The Washington Post fact-checked this talking point in 2014 and again this past June, and gave the claim “three-pinocchios,” when the Lincoln Project tried to push this same false narrative as McGrath is now, and that Allison Lundergan-Grimes attempted to in her 2014 bid against McConnell. From the fact-check:
“The implication is that McConnell did well as his state was left behind, but McConnell has long directed federal money toward his home state, including nearly $1 billion at the end of 2019...McConnell is far richer than most Kentuckians — the state ranks 48th in percentage of millionaires — but he didn’t earn that because of his government service.”
Leader McConnell’s re-election campaign blasted McGrath’s ad as a racist attack on Sec. Chaos’s heritage:
“Amy McGrath’s latest ad is just racist, pure and simple. Could anyone imagine this ad running in an election if Elaine Chao was born in Europe? This is a despicable attack on Senator McConnell’s wife whose family fled communism, earned their success through relentless hard work, and have lived the definition of the American dream,” said McConnell Senate Committee campaign manager Kevin Golden.
McGrath’s latest ad is just racist, pure & simple.
— Team Mitch (Text MITCH to 47360) (@Team_Mitch) August 7, 2020
Overt attacks on Elaine Chao’s heritage have been a familiar theme in previous campaigns from the washed up wing of @KyDems who still in 2020 can’t wrap their mind around nominating a person of color to represent their party. https://t.co/6tvTw5MpIa
McGrath’s candidacy has been tainted by gaffes, hypocrisy, flip-flopped stances on important issues and hyper partisan campaign ads, but this attack on Sec. Chao on the basis of race transcends any reasonable standard for criticizing a political opponent. McGrath's need to sink this low speaks to the desperation of her imploding campaign.