New Ad Hits Kelly Ayotte For Calling Trump A Good Role Model

WASHINGTON ― Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) “misspoke” earlier this week when she said Donald Trump is “absolutely” a role model for children, and now it’s coming back to bite her.

In a new 60-second TV ad put out by Ayotte’s Democratic challenger, New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, the senator’s flub is shown alongside clips of Trump demeaning and bullying people.

“Absolutely, I would do that,” Ayotte is seen saying in the ad when asked by a debate moderator if she would tell kids to look up to the Republican presidential nominee.

Ayotte quickly retracted her statement hours after the debate on Monday, but that didn’t stop Hassan from using it in the ad, which will begin airing on New Hampshire TV stations on Friday.

“I misspoke tonight,” Ayotte said. “While I would hope all of our children would aspire to be president, neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton have set a good example and I wouldn’t hold up either of them as role models for my kids.”

The ad includes Trump’s latest attacks on former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, who he said “gained a massive amount of weight” after she was crowned.

Other clips in the ad show Trump mocking his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, for stumbling during her bout with pneumonia, and ridiculing a reporter for being disabled.

The hit comes at a bad time for Ayotte, who is running for a second term. Throughout the election, Ayotte has walked a thin line in her support of Trump, refusing to endorse him but promising to vote for him. The Senate race is a toss-up with roughly four weeks left before the election, according to HuffPost Pollster.