A pro-Democrat PAC has released an ad showing a fictional Republican lawmaker and masked men kidnapping an American citizen while on a date with her boyfriend.
Newsweek reached out to the Progress Action Fund via email for comment.
The Context
The Progress Action Fund, a group targeting Republicans in swing districts that published similar ads during the 2024 election, frequently portrays a generic “Republican congressman” interfering with actors’ personal lives in an attempt to reach new audiences.
The group was founded by former Obama administration staffers, and its ads received over 500 million views across swing states in the 2024 presidential election.
What To Know
The latest ad, released on Wednesday, features a white man and a Latina woman on a date. Masked men grab the screaming woman as a Republican congressman tells her boyfriend that “she’s coming with us.” He says that they’re taking her to a prison in El Salvador.
When the man protests that “she was born here, she’s a citizen,” the lawmaker replies, “I don’t care, she looks like one of them.” The ad closes with a quote from President Donald Trump, which reads: “The homegrowns are next.”
The quote was from a conversation Trump had with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele in April about the possibility of jailing U.S. citizens.
“We were inspired to create this ad because despite saying he would only target violent criminals, Trump and ICE are rounding up everyday people and American citizens,” Joe Jacobson, the founder and executive director of Progress Action Fund, told Newsweek.
“ICE even deported a 4-year old citizen with cancer and detained a 9-months pregnant woman who was also a citizen. Only 10 percent of the roundups are actually of violent criminals, and we need to take a stand against this blatant racial profiling so Trump does not become even more emboldened to tear apart our communities.”
The video, which was written, shot, produced and published within a month, caught the attention of the White House, which told Fox News that the ad was a waste of money.
“It would be more efficient for Democrats to just light their money on fire instead of spending it fear-mongering with a silly ad no one takes seriously. This is clearly just a sad attempt to distract from the violent Democrat rioters in LA who want to keep criminal illegal aliens in American communities,” Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, said.
Progress Action Fund
What People Are Saying
Joe Jacobson, the founder and executive director of Progress Action Fund, told Newsweek: “The goal is to show people what’s going on because most people don’t know how frequently and widespread these disgusting deportations are.
“This is especially true of young men, who we are targeting because both my deputy and I are 31 years old and uniquely understand this demographic. This group is absolutely critical to reach, given they swung to Trump by 30 points last cycle. The only way to win them back is to produce extremely creative and provocative content because they will not engage with politics unless they absolutely have to.
“Young men and all voters need to understand that Trump isn’t just coming for violent criminals who are here illegally: he’s coming for citizens and he’s coming for you.”
What Happens Next
The Progress Action Fund had said it plans to produce similar videos in the run-up to the 2026 midterm elections.