Virginia congressional candidate compares Trump to bin Laden in new campaign ad

Democratic congressional candidate Dan Helmer compared President Trump to Usama bin Laden in a recent campaign ad. (Handout)

Democratic congressional candidate Dan Helmer drew a comparison between President Trump and Usama bin Laden in a new campaign ad.

“After 9/11, the greatest threat to our democracy lived in a cave. Today, he lives in the White House,” Helmer, who is challenging incumbent Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-Va., said. In the video, an image of bin Laden is shown before the camera pans to the White House and Trump.

“No one, not even the president, is above the law,” he continued.

White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah told Fox News the ad was "nothing short of reprehensible." He said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., should denounce the "abhorrent" ad.

"While the Leader does not condone the end of this ad, if the President wants to join in raising the level of civility in politics he should begin with himself," a Pelosi spokesman said in response.

On his campaign website, Helmer said he and his wife “were shocked by the 2016 elections and alarmed at the actions of this Administration and Congress.”

Helmer, who said he’s “different” and “not a politician” in the spot, released another ad earlier this month which showed him buying a rifle at a gun show without having to complete a background check. Federal background checks are required in order for someone to purchase a gun from a federal firearms licensed dealer; private sales are not subjected to background checks.

Last year, his campaign released a “Top Gun”-style ad that featured Helmer singing karaoke to a Comstock lookalike at a bar about her lack of town hall meetings and opposition to Planned Parenthood and ObamaCare.

Fox News' Serafin Gomez contributed to this report.