The Biden campaign plans to focus on Donald Trump’s recent conviction in his New York hush money trial ahead of next week’s debate. The campaign announced Monday it will spend $50 million on ads in battleground states, emphasizing the “central dynamic of the race” – that Biden fights for the American people, while Trump only cares about himself.
In a statement, Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler said Trump’s conviction shows he will do anything to gain power and exact revenge. “That’s why he was convicted, that’s why he encouraged a violent mob to storm the Capitol on January 6, and it’s why his entire campaign is an exercise in revenge and retribution,” Tyler said.
The 30-second ad, “Character Matters,” highlights Trump’s criminal conviction on 34 felony counts for falsifying business records to cover up an alleged affair with Stormy Daniels. The ad will air on battleground state markets and national cable, emphasizing that Trump’s status as a convicted felon reflects a “spiraling and unhinged” individual who will do anything for power and revenge.
The ad will also contrast Trump with Biden, who is focused on improving Americans’ lives, lowering costs, and taking on corporate greed. “Character matters, and the president of the United States should be someone who understands that the highest office in the land is about you and your family – not a vehicle to enrich yourself,” Tyler added.
The $50 million ad spend will also include targeted ads to black, Latino, and Asian American voters, with a focus on issues such as the economy and healthcare. The campaign’s announcement comes one week after Hunter Biden’s federal gun crime trial in Delaware, in which he was convicted.
Meanwhile, polls have slightly tightened to Biden’s advantage, though Trump has an average 3 percentage point lead in RealClearPolitics‘ survey aggregation and a 1 point edge in FiveThirtyEight‘s counterpart.
