Alex Meluskey, the Scottsdale, Arizona businessman who has launched a primary challenge against long-time Sen. John McCain for the seat he has held since 1987, this week launched a new ad attacking the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, saying he favors allowing some Syrian refugees into the United States.
"In the three years since, the attack at Fort Hood in Texas has been forgotten by many," the
one-minute ad begins.
"Since 9/11, there have been 43 terrorist attacks on American soil. One of them was at Fort Hood, Texas, where a radicalized Muslim killed 13 American soldiers, but John McCain favors letting more radicals into America."
The ad goes on to show McCain, sitting with his ally, South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham and saying that there are "some refugees that I think we could take into this country."
And when McCain is asked who would vet the refugees, the senator replies, "First of all, I'd vet a number of them because I know them."
But in the case of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, that vetting didn't happen, the ad points out.
Hasan, a U.S. Army psychiatrist and Medical Corps major, was convicted of shooting 13 people and injuring more than 30 others at Fort Hood in 2009.
"Senator, that radical at Fort Hood was an American citizen, a doctor and a U.S. Army major," Meluskey's ad says. "If we can't vet him, how can you possibly claim to vet these refugees? It's time to end the influx of terrorists into America."
Meluskey, 47, is a member of the Scottsdale Tea Party and serves as state director of Arizonans for Fair Tax, according to
The Arizona Republic. He also serves as a precinct committeeman and has his own conservative radio program.
In response to to the ad, a McCain spokeswoman Lorna Romero tells Newsmax "John McCain welcomes Mr. Meluskey to the Senate race, it’s just unfortunate that he’d start his campaign with such a dishonest ad. Senator McCain has always stressed that the U.S. government has a solemn responsibility to our citizens to fully vet the backgrounds of any and all refugees from the Middle East and other global trouble spots. Notably, it was Senator McCain who helped pass legislation to award Purple Hearts to the victims of Nidal Hasan’s brutal terrorist attack on Fort Hood, Texas in 2009.
Romero continued that "John McCain is the Senate’s leading expert on U.S. national security, and Arizonans are very proud of his long record of protecting and defending our nation, both in uniform and in public service."
McCain is also facing primary challenges from State Sen. Kelli Ward and Clair Van Steenwyk, another conservative radio personality.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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