The Democratic National Committee (DNC), supporting President Joe Biden’s re-election, has taken out an ad in the Atlanta Journal Constitution pointing voters to an extended digital advertisement blasting former President Donald Trump as “a threat to our democracy.”
The ad will appear on the news outlet’s home page. It will also run in the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Arizona Republic. It shows an image of Trump from last week’s presidential debate, the first of this cycle. Bold letters in all caps say Trump is a fraud, liar and denier, adding that he’s a threat to democracy. The ad will point voters to a nearly 90-second ad expanding on that theme.
“Donald Trump is the most existential threat to America’s democracy yet,” DNC spokesperson Abhi Rahman said. “Trump has shown over and over again that he has no remorse for his role in the insurrection on our nation’s Capitol, and now that the Supreme Court has emboldened his dangerous pursuit of power, there’s no doubt that his number one priority in a second term would be dismantling democracy as we know it.”
The digital ad voters are directed to begins with edited footage from the CNN debate last Thursday in which debate co-moderator Dana Bash asks Trump if he will “pledge tonight that once all legal challenges have been exhausted, that you will accept the results of this election, regardless of who wins?”
The ad does not show Trump’s first response, which avoided the question entirely, but skips to Bash asking the question a second, and then a third time.
“The question was, will you accept the results of this election regardless of who wins, yes or no please?”
Trump responds, “if it’s a fair and legal and good election.”
Text on the screen then sums up the exchange, noting that Trump was asked three times, but “refused to accept the results of this election.”
The ad then pivots to media coverage of the debate, with CNN anchor Kasie Hunt reporting that he “would not commit to accepting the election results,” adding that “he lied over and over again.”
Another media clip from News Nation anchor Dan Abrams added that Trump’s “response was always with a caveat: if it’s fair.”
“Shouldn’t we be concerned about that?” he asks.
“He defines a fair and good election as one that he wins,” adds David Axelrod, former chief strategist for former President Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns. “There are only two outcomes for Donald Trump: Either he wins or the election is fraudulent.”
The ad then pivots to MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski explaining why she still believes Biden is the best choice for the U.S. despite Biden’s poor debate performance last week, pointing to Trump’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Because he was standing next to a man who represents fascism, who doesn’t believe in this country, and would not even agree to the results of this election if they were free and fair to him, a man who has incited a riot, a man who tried to overturn the election, a man who’s liable of sexual abuse, a man who is a fraudster, a man who is a convicted felon,” she said.
The ad ends with three words appearing on screen, followed by a warning.
“Fraud. Liar. Denier. Donald Trump is a threat to our democracy.”
The Biden campaign and Democratic organizations supporting his re-election, particularly the DNC, have been running major damage control following the debate, which universally was considered a disastrous performance by the incumbent President.
Speculation has been swirling since Thursday evening about whether Biden should step down from the race in favor of a younger candidate after he confirmed worries that his advanced age precludes him from effectively serving another four years in the White House.
So far, the Biden campaign has been full steam ahead, with Biden himself acknowledging in a North Carolina rally the day after the debate that he isn’t as young or articulate as he once was, but making the case that he’s still the right man for the job.
Much of the efforts since then have been centered around Trump’s repeated lies during the debate — a CNN analysis found at least 30 false statements by the former President (as well as at least nine from Biden) — and the threat he poses to American democracy.
That urgency was heightened Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court released its 6-3 majority opinion on Trump’s claim of presidential immunity related to his action on Jan. 6, 2021. The high court found Presidents have immunity for official acts as Commander-in-Chief, but not for unofficial acts, and kicked the case back to lower court.
The move effectively ensures that Trump’s criminal trial related to Jan. 6 will not be heard before the Presidential Election in November.
Late Monday in a brief address to the nation, Biden took on an uncharacteristically partisan tone from the White House, declaring the ruling to be a dangerous precedent and telling Americans it is now their responsibility “to render judgment about Donald Trump’s behavior.”
Biden quoted briefly from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s scathing dissent, declaring the ruling essentially means “the President is now a king above the law” and signing off on her dissent with an atypical, “with fear for our democracy, I dissent.”
