A new ad in Missouri uses video of Hillary Clinton labeling voters in states that voted against her as "backwards" to attack Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, who was Clinton's earliest supporter in Congress and worked closely with her failed 2016 campaign.
The ad from Republican Josh Hawley, the frontrunner to win the party's primary to face McCaskill in November, showcases the two-term incumbent's early support for Clinton, saying she "led the Hillary coalition" in the Senate.
"In Claire McCaskill's America, Hillary is the president," says the ad, which brings up McCaskill's 2013 decision to be the first member of Congress to get behind Clinton's 2016 campaign.
It then highlights Clinton's comment in India last week that voters in states like Missouri were "backwards," and voted for Trump because they didn't like seeing black people or women getting jobs.
"Claire McCaskill stuck to her liberal party line and proudly endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016, and these latest comments make it abundantly clear how out-of-touch they are with the middle-class way of life we cherish and fight for here in Missouri," said Hawley in a statement on the new ad. "Our hardworking families are tired of being devalued by Washington elites who think they know it all. This is exactly the kind of McCaskill-endorsed rhetoric that will send her home in November."
McCaskill seemed aware that the comments from Clinton would be used against her. She quickly went to the Washington Post to push back against Clinton's comments, saying, "Those are kind of fighting words for me, because I’m partial to Missouri voters."
Clinton responded to the criticism, which has come from members of her own party and Republicans alike, by saying her comments were "misinterpreted" and she "meant no disrespect to any individual or group."