Donald Trump on Friday slammed a new commercial from American Crossroads, saying the ad's suggestion that President Obama was the "biggest celebrity in the world" would actually help the president.
“I thought it was one of the worst commercials, in terms of what they were trying to do, that I’ve ever seen,” Trump told MSNBC. “They are making Obama look great. They are making him look like that’s the man we want to be president. I looked at that clip very closely, and actually, I couldn’t believe it.”
The ad from the GOP super-PAC plays off a similar commercial released in 2008 by GOP nominee Sen. John McCain's (Ariz.) campaign that suggested Obama was more of a celebrity than an able political leader. The American Crossroads ad features clips of Obama dancing on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "slow-jamming" the news on Jimmy Fallon's late-night show, singing an Al Green tune at a fundraiser and drinking a St. Patrick's Day beer.
The ad then asks, "After four years of a celebrity president, is your life any better?"
Earlier in the morning, advertising executive Donny Deutsch told the "Morning Joe" panel that the ad turned Obama's celebrity against him effectively. But Trump vehemently disagreed, and called in to rebut that sentiment.
“I heard him talking favorably about the ad that was put out essentially by the Republicans, and I thought it was a terrible ad. It made Obama bigger than life. It made him to be the super-celebrity, which I don’t happen to think he is,” Trump said.
Trump went on to say that "when I first saw it, I thought the Democrats put it out.”
The reality television show host, who considered his own presidential run, ultimately decided instead to back presumptive nominee Mitt Romney's campaign. But since then, Trump has shown a flair for breaking from Republican messaging, picking a high-profile fight with attorney Gloria Allred and warning he thought the House GOP budget would haunt candidates in the fall.
