A new super PAC organized by some establishment Republicans is getting ready to hit Donald Trump hard with its second television ad this week, raising questions about his conservative credentials.
In its latest spot, slated to start running Friday in Iowa and New Hampshire, Our Principles PAC asks: “Can conservatives trust Donald Trump?” as it hits Trump on changing his position on whether undocumented immigrants should be allowed to eventually apply for citizenship.
Trump has repeatedly said during the campaign that all of those in the country illegally should be deported.
The ad says: “Trump can’t handle tough questions like why he’d let millions of illegal immigrants stay in America and even supports a pathway to citizenship.”
The ad then uses comments he made in June at an event in Chicago: “You have to give them a path and you have to make it possible to succeed. You have to do that.”
It also quotes him from a June 2012 interview saying: “How do you throw someone out that’s lived in this country for 20 years? You just can’t throw everyone out.”
The group also shows a 2013 tweet where he says, “Amnesty should be done.”
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The group’s first TV commercial, released Wednesday, also raises questions about the Republican front-runner’s conservative record, using comments he made in a 1999 interview when asked if he would ban partial birth abortion. He said no, and added, “I’m pro-choice in every respect.”
When asked about his abortion record on Tuesday, he told reporters, “All I can tell you is this: I’m pro-life, and I’ve been pro-life a long time.”
Our Principles PAC is slated to spend about $2 million running the two ads, a source familiar with the campaign told CNN.
The group is run by Katie Packer, who was a top aide for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.
