Donald Trump is pulling an ad hitting Ted Cruz for his stance on immigration and replacing it with a positive spot in South Carolina.
“Right now we are running a positive campaign for Mr. Trump,” campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told CNN.
The Trump campaign has relied almost exclusively on “earned media” coverage of his rallies on live television and phoned-in interviews to cable shows to build his name as a contender. But he bought time on-air against Cruz last month when the Texas senator emerged as a threat.
The new positive spot features Trump supporters delivering testimonials supporting Trump’s message and lacks much of the negativity that has been a hallmark of Trump’s campaign.
“We have a country that we’re proud of and we love and we’re not going to lose,” Trump says in a clip from one of his rallies in the ad, entitled “Voters Speak.”
Lewandowski did not rule out putting up a negative spot again, however, saying that nine days between now and the South Carolina primary is “a lifetime” in politics.
Trump’s entire campaign has been punctuated with attacks on his opponents on both sides of the aisle, though the billionaire businessman has repeatedly said he only attacks when attacked first.