Metro Weekly

Matthew Shepard’s mother: Donald Trump’s hateful campaign “terrifies me”

Judy Shepard blasted Donald Trump's campaign, saying he "should never be our president"

Judy Shepard, Photo: Priorities USA / YouTube
Judy Shepard, Photo: Priorities USA / YouTube

“When I see the hate that Donald Trump has brought to his campaign for president, it terrifies me.”

Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard, speaking in a political ad for Priorities USA, a pro-Hillary Clinton Super PAC.

Shepard retells the story of her son’s death in the ad. Eighteen years ago last week, Matthew Shepard was robbed, beaten, tied to a fence and left to die by two men in Laramie, Wyoming.

It was a hate crime that shocked the nation and the commercial directly ties the hatred that fueled Shepard’s death to the hate emanating from Trump’s campaign.

It particularly highlights Trump’s comments that he wants to punch someone in the face, his mocking of a reporter with disabilities, and the statement that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose any supporters.

“Words have an influence. Violence causes pain. Hate can rip us apart,” Shepard says. “I know what can happen as the result of hate, and Donald Trump should never be our president.”

Watch the ad below:

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