A regional Super Bowl ad for Michigan Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra garnered further disapproval Wednesday when , the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress, spoke out on CNN against the "violent hateful" ad.
The Super Bowl commercial depicts an Asian woman speaking in broken English and thanking Hoekstra’s opponent Debbie Stabenow—called Debbie SpenditNow in the ad—for spending so much and giving American jobs to Asians.
See the full commercial attached to this article.
"I was offended; I was stunned," Chu said on CNN. "This is meant to stereotype and meant to blame Chinese persons and Asian persons for stealing American jobs. The economy is in a downturn but there are lots of reasons for it and the ad basically blames Asian Americans for that."
Wars and tax cuts for the wealthy were among the reasons Chu gave for the poor economy.
Chu’s husband, , who represents San Marino and other San Gabriel Valley cities, blasted the ad in a statement Tuesday.
Hoekstra defended the ad Monday, telling Detroit's WJR-AM, "Clearly China is one of many countries benefiting from our irresponsible spending. To highlight that is absolutely appropriate," according to Yahoo News.
Chu said she issued a statement and wrote a letter to Hoekstra’s campaign and will continue to pressure him to pull the ad.
What do you think of Hoekstra's Super Bowl ad? Is it racist or hateful? Tell us in the comments.
