GOP rep counters CNN’s 'Facts First' ad with pro-life video: 'This is a baby'

Republican Rep. Trent Franks has clapped back at CNN's "Facts First" ad campaign with a pro-life video that aims to turn the network's promotional effort on its head.

CNN’s ad, which launched earlier this week, shows a bright, red apple alongside the declaration, "This is an apple," apparently making the point that such basic facts cannot be twisted.

Franks, a staunchly pro-life Republican from Arizona, launched his own 31-second “facts first” ad on Twitter late Tuesday.

“This is a baby,” the ad begins, showing a photo of a fetus in the womb and text on the bottom. “Some people might try to tell you that it’s a clump of cells. They might scream cells, cells, cells, cells over and over and over again. They might put CELLS in all caps. You might even start to believe that this is merely a clump of cells. But it’s not. This is a baby. Facts First."

Franks recently sponsored legislation that passed in the House, 237-189, that would make it a crime to perform or attempt an abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

“I actually appreciated CNN’s analogy about the truth. I wish we were all willing to constrain ourselves to the truth in our political discourse instead of so often disinviting it from the debate,” Franks told Fox News in an email. “Ignoring the humanity of innocent unborn children and the inhumanity of what we are doing to them is a profound example of ignoring the very obvious truth.”

CNN’s ad has faced social media mockery from conservatives all week.

“This is an apple,” the CNN video says. “Some people might try to tell you that it’s a banana. They might scream, ‘banana, banana, banana,’ over and over and over again. They might put BANANA in all caps. You might even start to believe that this is a banana. But it’s not. This is an apple.”

The final image is the CNN logo, with the text “Facts First.”