Former President Trump’s campaign will air a pair of 30-second ads during Thursday night’s debate with President Biden, including one that suggests Biden would be unable to serve a full second term.
One ad, titled “Who’s Laughing Now,” features images of Biden stumbling on the stairs of Air Force One, falling over while clipped into his bike and appearing lost on stage.
“Do you think the guy who was defeated by the stairs … got taken down by his bike … lost a fight with his jacket … and regularly gets lost … makes it four more years in the White House?” a narrator says.
“And you know who’s waiting behind him, right?” the narrator says as an image of Vice President Harris appears. “Vote Joe Biden today, and Kamala Harris tomorrow.”
The ad raises a familiar theme for the Trump campaign and Republicans, and one that is likely to be a major point of attack for the former president during the debate: That Biden, who is 81, is too frail and confused to serve another four-year term.
Biden’s campaign has hit back at those attacks, arguing the president’s record and his ability to do the job the past three years speaks for itself.
The second ad, titled “Promises,” asks viewers if they are better off financially since Biden took office, or if the country is more secure. The ad features headlines about inflation, the situation at the southern border and the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“After four years of failure under Joe Biden, it’s time to make America prosperous and strong again,” a narrator says.
CNN is set to host the first of two scheduled debates between Trump and Biden in Atlanta at 9 p.m. EDT. The second will take place in September and be hosted by ABC News.
Thursday’s event, which will be simulcast across multiple networks, marks the first time in decades the debates are not being organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
In a shift from past years, CNN will have two commercial breaks during Thursday’s 90-minute debate. Semafor reported that the network was asking advertisers for $1 million or more for space during the event.
The forum, moderated by anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, also represents the first time the two candidates have been face-to-face since the 2020 election.
While the Trump campaign will air ads during the debate, the Biden campaign announced a seven-figure paid multimedia campaign around the event that includes digital ads on social media platforms, billboards around Atlanta and digital-ad takeovers of eight news sites, including CNN.
“Today’s show of force in Atlanta and across the battlegrounds emphasizes the two contrasting visions the American people will see on the debate stage tonight: between President Biden fighting for the American people, and Donald Trump whose campaign is focused on benefitting one person only: himself,” Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a statement.
The Democratic National Committee is also launching a mobile billboard in the area around the debate attacking the former president over his election interference case in the Peach State.