A top White House aide tried to distance the administration from an incendiary new online ad that says Democrats are culpable for murder if they refuse to support the administration’s immigration proposals ― even though the ad came from President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. The campaign released the ad as the government shutdown began on Saturday. Marc Short, the White House’s legislative affairs director, tried to distance the White House from the ad, telling Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” that it was produced by an “outside group” and not anyone in the White House ― even though that group is the president’s own campaign. But when Todd pressed him on whether the ad was helpful in terms of negotiating a funding deal with Democrats, Short defended it. “I think it’s helpful to continue to raise awareness of the crisis we have,” Short said.

Source: Huffington Post January 21, 2018 17:15 UTC