Kamala Harris released her first official presidential campaign ad on Thursday featuring the mugshot of her Republican rival, Donald Trump.
“In this election, we each face a question,” the vice president says in a voiceover as Beyoncé’s song “Freedom” plays. “What kind of country do we want to live in? There are some people who think we should be a country of chaos, of fear, of hate,” she says over images of Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance.
“But us? We choose something different—we choose freedom,” Harris says in the ad, her first since announcing her bid for the Democratic nomination over the weekend. “The freedom not just to get by, but get ahead. The freedom to be safe from gun violence. The freedom to make decisions about your own body.”
“We choose a future where no child lives in poverty,” Harris continues. “Where we all can afford health care. Where no one is above the law.” That last sentence is accompanied by Trump’s mugshot taken at the Fulton County Jail last August in connection with his Georgia election interference case along with headlines about his more recent conviction on 34 felony counts in relation to a hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
“We believe in the promise of America and we are ready to fight for it,” Harris says in her ad. “Because when we fight, we win. So join us.”
Trump is separately exploiting the mugshot in support of his own campaign, using it on merchandise including mugs, bumper stickers, and koozies bearing the slogan “NEVER SURRENDER!” He’s also monetized the photo by giving pieces of the suit he wore when it was taken to people who bought 47 of his Trump “Mugshot Edition” non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which cost $99 each.
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