Democrat Jon Ossoff on Monday denounced a now-deleted Facebook ad by Sen. David Perdue’s (R-Ga.) campaign that appeared to make Ossoff’s nose look larger, accusing Perdue of playing on antisemitic tropes.
Perdue’s campaign blamed an outside vendor and described the altered photo as an “unintentional error” that was caused when a filter was applied.
Sitting U.S. Senator David Perdue's digital attack ad distorted my face to enlarge and extend my nose.
— Jon Ossoff (@ossoff) July 28, 2020
I'm Jewish.
This is the oldest, most obvious, least original anti-Semitic trope in history.
Senator, literally no one believes your excuses.https://t.co/PiA7P4O4M2
The ad — which declared that “Democrats are trying to buy Georgia!” — featured Ossoff and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), both of whom are Jewish. The ad had been running on Facebook since July 22 and had made a total of 3,000 to 4,000 impressions before it was removed by Perdue’s campaign.
“Sitting U.S. Senator David Perdue’s digital attack ad distorted my face to enlarge and extend my nose,” Ossoff said. “I’m Jewish. This is the oldest, most obvious, least original antisemitic trope in history. Senator, literally no one believes your excuses.”
Ossoff later issued a statement in which he added that Perdue “can start with an unqualified apology to Georgia’s Jewish community.”
Ossoff is running against Perdue in one of a handful of competitive races around the country that Democrats hope to win in their effort to take control of the Senate. Cook Political Report rates the contest a toss-up.
Perdue’s campaign said Monday that it had deleted the ad to ensure that there was “no confusion” about the senator’s intentions. John Burke, a Perdue campaign spokesman, noted that the senator himself had not seen the ad.