Former President Trump’s campaign plans to air two 30-second ads during Thursday night’s debate with President Biden, including one that suggests Biden will not be able to serve a full second term.
The ad, titled “Who’s Laughing Now?”, shows Biden stumbling down the stairs of Air Force One, getting pinched by a bicycle and getting lost on stage.
“Do you think a man who’s lost down the stairs… been knocked down by a bicycle… lost a fight with a jacket… always lost his way can last another four years in the White House?” the narrator asks.
“And you know who’s waiting behind him?” the narrator says, as footage of Vice President Harris appears on screen. “Vote today for Joe Biden and tomorrow for Kamala Harris.”
The ad raises a theme familiar to the Trump campaign and Republicans, and one that is likely to be a major attack against the former president in the debate: that Biden, 81, is too frail and confused to serve another four years in office.
The Biden campaign has pushed back against those attacks, arguing the president’s record and performance over the past three years speaks for itself.
The second ad, titled “Promises,” asks viewers if they are better off economically or if the country is safer since Biden took office. The ad features headlines about inflation, the situation on the southern border and the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“After four years of failure under Joe Biden’s administration, it’s time to make America prosperous and strong again,” the narrator says.
CNN will broadcast the first of two scheduled debates between Trump and Biden at 9 p.m. EDT in Atlanta. The second will be held in September and will be moderated by ABC News.
Thursday’s event, which will be simulcast on multiple networks, will be the first debate in decades not hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Unlike past years, CNN will have two commercial breaks during Thursday’s 90-minute debate. Semaphore reported The network was seeking more than $1 million from advertisers for ad space during the event.
The forum, moderated by hosts Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, will also mark the first time the candidates have met in person since the 2020 election.
While the Trump campaign will run ads during the debate, the Biden campaign has announced a seven-figure paid multimedia campaign surrounding the debate, including digital ads on social media platforms, billboards around Atlanta and digital ad takeovers on eight news sites, including CNN.
“Today’s show of force in Atlanta and across the battlegrounds underscores the two contrasting visions the American people will see on tonight’s debate stage: a President Biden fighting for the American people and Donald Trump, who is focused only on the interests of only one person in his campaign – himself,” Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said in a statement.
The Democratic National Committee has also set up mobile billboards around the debate venue attacking the former president over election interference in the Peach State.
