Chief of 84 Lumber Speaks Out on Super Bowl Ad

She's pro-Trump, pro-border wall
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 7, 2017 4:26 AM CST
Updated Feb 7, 2017 5:19 AM CST

The company owner who signed off on one of the Super Bowl's most controversial ads says she is pro-President Trump and pro-border wall—despite the 84 Lumber ad's depiction of a Hispanic mother and daughter finding a door in the wall. Maggie Hardy Magerko tells People that the ad wasn't supposed to be pro-immigration or even political, but to show that we can make the world a better place for our children through struggle. "If I thought the wall was negative, I wouldn't have had the wall," says Magerko, who believes a border wall is needed "to keep America safe." A company press release describes the ad as part of a recruitment campaign, with the door symbolizing "the doors that 84 Lumber opens for its employees."

"Even President Trump has said there should be a 'big beautiful door in the wall so that people can come into this country legally,'" Magerko says. "It’s not about the wall. It's about the door in the wall." She tells the New York Times that she was "flabbergasted" by Fox's decision not to show the ad in full because it was deemed too political. If people have to "climb higher, go under, do whatever it takes to become a citizen. I am all for that 110%," she says. "But do I want cartels? Hell, no." KTLA reports that Trump supporters have called for boycotts of 84 Lumber and other brands with ads seen as pro-immigration, including Airbnb and Budweiser. (Airbnb followed up its ad with a campaign to house 100,000 people in need.)

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