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“The Sheer Stupidity And Ignorance”: This Republican Posted A Horrifying Campaign Ad, And People Are Calling It “Blatantly Racist”

Honestly WTF.

It's a day ending in Y, and that means a Republican posted something stupid on the internet again! This time, it was Marsha Blackburn.

Person with long hair and blue glasses speaks into a microphone during a formal event

In case you're not familiar, she's a Tennessee senator and a strong supporter of Donald Trump.

Person holding a phone and glasses, standing near a U.S. flag, wearing a formal jacket

Marsha is currently running for governor, which brings us to the truly bonkers campaign ad she recently posted on X (formerly Twitter).

A woman with shoulder-length hair and red glasses speaks into a microphone at a formal event

The ad begins with the politician sitting in a restaurant. Note the bottom corner, where she calls herself a "CONSERVATIVE WARRIOR" and informs voters that she's "TRUMP TRUE" and "TENNESSEE FIRST." (Why is Tennessee first mentioned second?)

A woman sits at a table in a restaurant with red accents, next to a soy sauce bottle and fortune cookies. Text: "Conservative Warrior Marsha Blackburn."

"How hard am I gonna crack down on China?" she asks. "Well, here’s a clue."

Woman in a casual dining setting, speaking, with text: "Conservative Warrior Marsha Blackburn. Trump True. Tennessee First."

Marsha then picks up fortune cookies...

Person reaching for wrapped fortune cookies next to soy sauce bottle in a restaurant

...and crushes them in her hands???

Marsha Blackburn ad highlights cooperation with President Trump on China, featuring a table with fortune cookies

While she continues to do this, the voiceover says, "Marsha Blackburn worked with President Trump to take on China."

Person sitting at table with soy sauce and fortune cookies, text reads: "Marsha Blackburn worked with President Trump to take on China."

Notice the growing pile of fortune cookie pieces.

A person in a diner, seated at a table with fortune cookies, appears to be opening a plastic wrapper

We then get a closeup of this fortune:

Fortune cookie message reads: "Marsha Blackburn will fight to protect Tennessee land from China," surrounded by broken cookie pieces

And this fortune:

Fortune cookie paper says, "Marsha Blackburn will close loopholes and hunt down communists," surrounded by broken cookie pieces

"It doesn’t take a fortune cookie to figure it out," Marsha says. "Here in Tennessee, we’re gonna stop Communist China and protect Tennessee land."

Woman at a restaurant table with scattered fortune cookies; text reads "Conservative Warrior Marsha Blackburn Stop Communist China."

We're left with this parting image of a maneki-neko (beckoning cat), which actually originated in Japan.

Lucky cat figurine next to text endorsing Marsha Blackburn for Tennessee governor

Obviously, the internet had THOUGHTS about all this!

Many people pointed out that fortune cookies are not Chinese. The treats are believed to be an early 1900s Japanese American creation in California — a twist on Japan's tsujiura senbei (fortune cracker) that was flavored with sesame and miso:

Tweet about the American invention of the fortune cookie, credited to Makoto Hagiwara, an immigrant at the Japanese Tea Garden in early 1900s
Tweet by Jeannie Page calling someone a "completely brainless moron," discussing fortune cookies and political criticism

Others offered their opinions on the ad as a whole:

Tweet from user expressing that a campaign ad is the "stupidest" ever aired in America
Tweet from sunfish: A sarcastic comment about a poorly executed political ad, calling it impressively stupid and incoherent; notes continuing decline

Some called the ad racist:

Tweet from Evan: "This seems racist and just downright rude to me."
Tweet criticizing misconceptions about Asian cultures and commenting on political contradictions

A lot of X users chimed in with their thoughts on Marsha herself:

Tweet by Joey Red Stockings: "Definitely the type to leave that mess she made behind for other people to clean up."
A tweet mocking someone for not brushing hair well but being able to open a fortune cookie. Ends with sarcastic praise

In summary:

Tweet reads: "Serious question...do you think you nailed this? Because you didn't."

What do you think about all this? LMK in the comments below!

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