Joe Biden’s first campaign ad of the year focuses on threats to US democracy, timed for release on the anniversary of the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol.
In the ad, Biden says that preserving American democracy has been the “central issue of his presidency”. As footage of political violence and rioting shows on screen, the president notes that “there’s an extremist movement that does not share the basic beliefs in our democracy”.
“All of us are being asked right now, what will we do to maintain our democracy?” he says.
Donald Trump is the overwhelming favorite to win the Republican nomination for November’s presidential election, despite his multitude of legal woes, which include charges linked to the Jan 6 attack.
The former president has also struck a notably more extremist tone during his campaign, raising fears he aims to deliberately erode US democratic institutions. Polling has also shown Trump to be in a close race with Biden and leading in some surveys.
The Biden attack ad will run nationally and in local markets in swing states such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, as well as online.
The spot highlights how Trump and his followers are continually working to undermine elections, the Biden-Harris campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, said in a news release.
“Over the last three years, Maga Republicans haven’t shied away from the Big Lie – they’ve doubled down. This ad serves as a very real reminder that this election could very well determine the very fate of American democracy,” she said.
A recent poll by the Washington Post and University of Maryland showed that support for Trump among Republicans has increased since the 6 January attacks.
Their beliefs on the insurrection itself have softened, the poll showed, with Republicans now less likely to see the attack as violent or Trump as responsible for it. 36% of those polled did not believe Biden was legitimately elected. Still, among independents and Democrats especially, the insurrection is seen as an attack on democracy.
