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Along with the statement on Twitter, Republican Schmitt released an ad that starts by showing a picture of St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, Alderman Megan Green, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush and state Sen. Karla May, with a narrator saying, “Tishaura Jones and her radical team want to defund our police.”

The ad cuts to Bush advocating for “defunding the police” in an interview and then shows a clip of Valentine expressing her willingness to work with Jones “on any of the things that she wants to work on.”

“Trudy Busch Valentine supports their anti-cop agenda,” the ad narrator says.

Jones, a Democrat supporting Valentine in the Senate race, responded less than two hours later on Twitter, referencing the school shooting in St. Louis on Monday.

“A day after a lone gunman killed 2 people and injured several others, the #SchmittShow puts this out instead of coming to STL to be in community with grieving students, staff and families,” Jones said. “More proof that he doesn’t give a damn about us.”

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas joined in on the social media platform: “The ease with which leaders who know better villainize Black women in this state is infuriating, particularly at challenging times. Tishaura and Cori, their challenges and their successes, are a lot like those of my mother, my sisters, my community.”

Valentine shared a clip of an interview earlier this year in which she said she is against defunding the police.

“It’s a shame that yet again career politician Eric Schmitt has chosen to continue his sad pattern of lying to Missouri voters — this time lying about my support for law enforcement,” Valentine said. “We deserve a Senator who will lead with honesty and integrity, not a habitual liar.”

Schmitt’s spokesman has pointed to Jones’ plan last year to move $4 million out of the city police department’s $171 million budget to fund affordable housing, homeless services, a victims’ support program and civil rights litigators as evidence of defunding the police.

The strategy of attempting to tie a more moderate candidate to controversial positions isn’t a new one for Missouri Republicans.

In 2020, Gov. Mike Parson tied state Auditor Nicole Galloway, his Democratic opponent in the gubernatorial election, to the “defund the police” movement, which Galloway also rejected. Parson won the governor’s race by a double-digit margin.

The Tuesday ad wasn’t the only action by Schmitt to receive criticism this week.

Schmitt was criticized Monday for tweeting out an endorsement video from former President Donald Trump in the aftermath of the school shooting.

“There was just a (expletive) school shooting in the state you want to represent in the senate and you’re posting THIS you (expletive) ghoul!?!?!” tweeted Tess Yocom, a Democrat from St. Louis.

Less than a half-hour after he tweeted the Trump video, Schmitt tweeted about the school shooting.

“Our hearts are with the students at the Central Visual and Performing Arts School and their families as they seek to heal from this senseless tragedy, and we commend the brave men and women of law enforcement for their quick and decisive action,” Schmitt said.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story misspelled Tess Yocom’s name.