New York // Donald Trump may have insulted Mexicans, Muslims and women but to woo Indian American voters he is dabbling in Hindi for Diwali.
A presidential campaign ad released on Thursday shows the New York businessman uttering “Ab Ki Baar Trump Sarkaar” – adapting Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s 2014 vote-winning catchphrase as his own.
“This time Trump government,” the ad said.
Mr Trump may speak Hindi in a thick American accent, but the 30-second video is the Republican candidate’s latest attempt to win votes among Indian Americans ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights which falls this weekend.
The ad opens with the message “Happy Diwali” and borrows from footage of Mr Trump speaking at a Hindu gathering in New Jersey this month, lighting an oil lamp and promising close US-Indian relations.
“The Indian and Hindu community will have a true friend in the White House,” he said in the ad. “We love the Hindus, we love India,” he added, saying that he looks forward to working with Mr Modi.
The candidate’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump visited a Hindu temple this week in Virginia, the home state of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton’s running mate Tim Kaine, which is expected to vote blue on November 8.
There are an estimated four million Indian Americans living in the US, according to a 2015 census. They are among the most educated ethnic groups and generally well off, according to the Pew Research Centre.
Only about half are Hindu and 65 per cent are Democrat, or Democrat-leaning, the think tank said in a 2014 report.
Mr Trump trails by 5.4 points in the latest poll average compiled by tracker RealClearPolitics in a national race against Mrs Clinton and two outsiders, pointing to a probable electoral college victory for the Democrat.
The two candidates’ latest campaign finance reports showed that Mrs Clinton has also dramatically widened her advantage over Mr Trump in ad spending.
According to the newest filings, released on Thursday, Mrs Clinton’s campaign and Super PAC outspent Mr Trump in the first three weeks of October by a factor of two to one on everything from national TV ads to local outreach through smartphones.
At the same time, the two Super PACs associated with Trump’s White House bid have seen their fundraising start to stall out, with one of the groups reserving no broadcast or cable ads between Oct. 20 and Election Day, according to data from ad-tracking firm SMG Delta.
A Super PAC is a fund-raising group that must operate separately from political campaigns but can raise unlimited sums.
Clinton and Priorities USA, the Super PAC that supports her, have spent US$360 million (Dh1.32bn) on all types of advertising since the beginning of the campaign, according to the reports, which covered spending up to October 19.
That is far higher than the $147m spent on advertising by Mr Trump and his two affiliated Super PACs during the same period.
What is more, for the period from October 20 until the November 8 election, Mrs Clinton and her Super PAC have reserved an additional $55m in TV ads, according to SMG Delta, including $30.5m from her campaign and $25mfrom her Super PAC.
The Trump campaign has committed to spending $32.4m during the same period, with the Trump Super PAC known as Great America saying it would contribute another $2.35m in broadcast and cable ads.
Although spending on television ads does not decide an election, Mrs Clinton has used her advertising clout to repetitively pound at criticisms of Mr Trump, which several strategists said had exacerbated his slide in polls.
Overall, the reports released on Thursday night showed how much Mr Trump and his lean campaign operation have been dwarfed by Mrs Clinton’s big money juggernaut. In total, Mr Trump has raised $292m between his campaign and affiliated Super PACs, including his own contributions, whereas Mrs Clinton has hauled in more than twice that, at $718m.
* Agence France-Presse and Reuters
