A Republican Senate candidate in New Mexico is defending how he used a clip from the recent execution video of American journalist James Foley in his latest ad.
On Monday, Republican Allen Weh released a campaign video called “Restore Leadership,” which included an image of the knife-wielding Islamic State fighter who beheaded Foley to make a point about President Barack Obama’s leadership failures.
The ad shows a number of images, including the president playing golf and dancing, mixed with scenes from wars in the Middle East. The image of Foley’s executioner is only shown for a few seconds.
The campaign of Weh’s opponent, Democratic Sen. Tom Udall, has expressed outrage over the inclusion of the image in the ad, calling it “reprehensible and appalling.” But Weh’s campaign says they deliberately did not show Foley’s face.
“Out of respect for the Foley family, no picture of James Foley was used,” campaign manager Diego Espinoza said. “Tom Udall’s feigned outrage over the inclusion of a now familiar image of this Jihadi terrorist, who is clearly the face of the evil that threatens our nation. Senator Udall’s comments about our diplomacy being ‘good’ reflect his naiveté and inexperience in matters of national security.”
Udall is handily leading Weh in the Senate race. The Real Clear Politics polling average shows Udall leading Weh 53 percent to 37 percent.