The Slatest

Hillary Lets Republicans Do All the Talking in Her New Trump Attack Ads

Hillary Clinton gives a thumbs up during a stop at the Lincoln Square Pancake House as she campaign for votes on Sunday in Indianapolis.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

And so it begins. Hillary Clinton unveiled two attacks ads against Donald Trump on Wednesday evening, shortly after the billionaire’s last remaining Republican rival dropped out of the race.* The new ads work in tandem as a one-two punch, the first using bold-faced GOP names to hit Trump for her:

And the second allowing Trump to do so himself:

These are web-only ads, but it stands to reason that we’ll see similar attacks on television over the next six months. Most of the quotes—both from the #NeverTrump crowd and the candidate himself—had previously received plenty of media attention, but seeing them all in one place is a reminder of just how much Clinton and her allies will have to work with in the general election.

For Trump fans, either spot might look like a pro-Trump compilation, the first since it features a Who’s Who of establishment politicians and the second because these are the (sure) “policies” he’s been touting for the past year. But Hillary’s not speaking to Trump supporters. She’s looking to peel off those conservative voters who have yet to come around to Trump with the first, and to rally liberals who never will with the second. And, as an added bonus, she doesn’t have to be the one directly throwing the punches herself. All in all, it seems like a good plan.

Also on the Slatest:

Read more of Slate’s coverage of the 2016 campaign.

*Correction, May 5, 2016: An earlier version of this post misstated what day the ads were released. They came out on Wednesday, not Thursday.