The most misogynistic ad in the history of politics

Elon Musk created America PAC to help Donald Trump win the presidential election. Through the end of September, Musk spent $75 million to fund the PAC's activities. More recently, Musk began giving away $1 million per day to registered voters who signed a petition sponsored by America PAC — even though such an offer likely violated federal law. The total amount Musk will spend on America PAC will almost certainly reach nine figures. 

Musk seized the handle @America on X to promote America PAC's activities supporting Trump and has repeatedly amplified the account. 

On Friday afternoon, America PAC posted a video ad attacking Trump's opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. "America really can't afford a 'C-Word' in the White House right now," America PAC posted, adding a laughing emoji. "Kamala Harris is a ‘C word,’" the narrator of the ad says. "You heard that right. A big ole ‘C word.’"

The "joke" of the ad is that Harris is a "communist." Of course, Harris is not a communist. And the ad makes no effort to show she is a communist. The line is only included as a pretext to repeatedly use a crass, misogynistic slur against Harris. 

The ad had no apparent impact on the relationship between Musk and the Trump campaign, which coordinates directly with America PAC. On Sunday night, Musk was featured at Trump's high-profile rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 

The event featured more sexist attacks on Harris. Businessman Grant Cardone appeared before Trump and described Harris as a prostitute. Cardone said that Harris "and her pimp handlers will destroy our country."

Trump has used a variety of gendered insults to attack Harris during the campaign. On Fox News, Trump said that world leaders would "look at" Harris and use her "like a play toy," adding "I don’t want to say as to why. But a lot of people understand it." On Truth Social, Trump has targeted Harris with crude sexual insults, suggesting her career is based on sexual favors. In August, the Associated Press reported that Trump refers to Harris as a "bitch" in private, citing two sources. 

On Monday, America PAC deleted the ad attacking Harris from X. Neither America PAC nor Musk explained — or even acknowledged — the ad's removal from the platform. As of Monday afternoon, the ad remains available on America PAC's Facebook account. 

Trump called on Samantha Bee to be fired for using the C-word

In 2018, comedian Samantha Bee used the C-word on her TBS show to describe Ivanka Trump and her complicity in the Trump administration's child separation policy. Bee acknowledged that her words were inappropriate and apologized. Trump nevertheless called on Bee to be fired.

Over the years, several women have accused Trump of verbally attacking them with the C-word. In 2016, former Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Jennifer Lin said that, after she wrote an article about Trump's Atlantic City business dealings in 1988, Trump called her and told her she had "shit for brains." After that call, Lin alleges that Trump called her editor and "referred to me as the c-word." Lin's editor, Craig Stock, confirmed Lin's story to CNN.

In 2023, Jessica Leeds, who alleges Trump assaulted her on an airplane in the 1970s, testified under oath in a defamation trial against Trump that, two years after the alleged assault, Trump recognized her and called her "that c*** from the airplane." 

Roberta Kaplan, an attorney, said that "Donald Trump used a coded expression to call her the C-word" at the conclusion of a deposition. "See you next Tuesday," Trump said, using a thinly veiled code for the C-word. 

Musk's ad concludes with a similar code: "See you nationwide, Tuesday."

Media largely ignores Musk's ad

Unlike Musk, Bee was not spending tens of millions of dollars supporting a presidential candidate, did not have billions of dollars in federal contracts, and was not the CEO of a public company. Nevertheless, within 24 hours, her comments were covered by nearly every major media outlet, including the Associated Press, the LA Times, CNN, CNBC, and many others.    

Days after Musk launched his crude attack on Harris, none of those outlets has covered the story. The repeated use of the C-word by Musk's PAC has received almost no coverage, meriting only brief items from ABC News, the Washington Post, and a few online outlets. Late Monday, the New York Times mentioned the ad as part of a larger story, incorrectly reporting that it was no longer available online.