Trump launches TV ad in Pa., three other battleground states

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump started airing his first television ad of the general election Friday. The 30-second spot went out to homes in four battleground states, including Pennsylvania, where polls show Democrat Hillary Clinton with a comfortable lead.

“Two Americas” makes the argument that Clinton is a status-quo candidate who will make the country a more dangerous place, specifically when it comes to immigration and terrorism.

“Syrian refugees flood in. Illegal immigrants convicted of committing crime get to stay — collecting Social Security benefits, skipping the line. Our border open. It’s more of the same but worse,” a deep-voiced narrator tells viewers above an ominous music bed.

As a more soaring score fades in, the ad paints Trump as an agent of change.

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“Terrorists and dangerous criminals kept out. Our families safe. Change that makes America safe again,” says the narrator.

The Trump campaign is spending nearly $1 million to air the ad in Pennsylvania, according to NBC News. The Philadelphia market accounts for more than half of that amount.

Muhlenberg University political science professor and pollster Chris Borick said the ad is geared toward garnering critical votes in suburban Philadelphia voters, who, so far, are flocking to Clinton.

“If Trump wants to win Pennsylvania, he has to be much more competitive in suburban Philadelphia,” said Borick.

The ad airs through Aug. 29.

A recent Quinnipiac University poll of likely Pennsylvania voters has Clinton with a 10 percentage-point lead over Trump.

The $4.8 million spot is also running in Ohio, North Carolina and Florida.

As of August, Clinton has spent $61 million on television ads during the general election, NBC News reported.

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