President Joe Biden is taking a more aggressive approach in his campaign ads in his race this time around against presumptive Republican nominee former President Donald Trump.
While this year’s general election may have the same candidates as in 2020, Biden’s campaign ads this year are more aggressive in their anti-Trump sentiment than in 2020. Four years ago, Biden tried to put himself above political squabbling, but now he’s attacked Trump on some personal matters.
“As long as he can do it with humor in a way that’s very on-brand for Biden, it can be effective,” said Alex Conant, who served as an adviser to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) during his race for the presidency during the 2016 election. “The risk with the strategy is that Trump’s a good counterpuncher. If you’re going to take the low road with Trump, he knows that path better than anyone.”
Following his very political State of the Union address, where Biden refused to call Trump by name but rather as his “predecessor,” he quadrupled his ad spending.
When Biden took office in 2021, he broke the record set by Trump for the oldest President to be inaugurated. Trump is only four years younger, and Biden, 81, has tried to stay ahead of jabs at his age.
“Look, I’m not a young guy, that’s no secret,” Biden said in a recent campaign ad. He then pointed to policy that Trump ran on in 2016, but failed to deliver.
Following the Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion that essentially outlawed the procedure in the swing state, Biden launched an ad-blitz across the state. In the ads, he pointed to Trump taking credit for being the reason Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
“Because of Donald Trump, millions of women lost the fundamental freedom to control their own bodies,” the ad begins. He continues, “Women’s lives are in danger because of that.”
“Your body and your decisions belong to you, not the government, not Donald Trump,” Biden said before the camera. “I will fight like hell to get your freedom back.”
A 60-second abortion ad in Arizona from the Biden campaign highlights a Texas woman’s story about how she almost died due to the Texas abortion ban.
Biden also used Trump’s own words against him in campaigns. He launched a campaign ad using Trump’s “bloodbath” comments, in which he warned of a “bloodbath” if he does not win the 2024 election.
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In one ad, footage of the white supremacist rally that took over Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 is shown over Trump’s words. The ad ends with “Stop Trump,” displayed on the screen.
With the election now about six months away, it’s unclear if the Biden campaign’s more aggressive strategy will prove winning on Election Day in November.
