Biden campaign focuses on democracy in first ad of 2024

President Biden’s reelection campaign dropped its first advertisement of 2024, focusing on preserving democracy to mark the anniversary of the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

The 60-second spot, entitled “Cause,” is narrated by Biden and argues that former President Trump, the GOP primary front-runner, has made efforts to “erode American democracy and excuse — and even promote — political violence.”

“I’ve made the preservation of American democracy an essential issue of my presidency,” Biden said in the ad. “Now, something dangerous is happening in America. There’s an extremist movement that does not share the basic beliefs in our democracy.”

The half-million-dollar ad blitz will run for a week on national television news and local evening news in key swing state television markets, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Shorter versions of the ad will run on digital platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Connected TV, the campaign said.

The ad was dropped a day ahead of the president’s planned speech on democracy to mark the third anniversary of Jan. 6, 2021. Biden is set to travel to the Philadelphia area on Friday for his first campaign event of the year, during which he will emphasize the threat he says Trump poses to democracy.

The speech was moved from Saturday to Friday due to the incoming winter storm in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions.

Biden-Harris 2024 campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez, in a statement on Thursday, argued Trump’s platform is extreme and undermines elections, weaponizes the government, and parrots dictators.

“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.

The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.