Former President Donald J. Trump’s campaign began running this 30-second ad linking Vice President Kamala Harris to President Biden and the administration’s economic record on television stations in at least five key battleground states last week. The campaign has spent $2.8 million on those commercials, according to AdImpact.
On the Screen
The ad begins with a blurry image of a laughing Ms. Harris standing behind Mr. Biden on a stage, reaching out and grabbing his shoulder — physically linking them — as the words “Bidenomics is a FAILURE” blare across the screen.
More bleak headlines follow: “Bidenomics FAILED.” “Bidenomics is a RECORD FAILURE.” “Americans’ incomes down THREE STRAIGHT YEARS.” “Unemployment RISING.” “America may soon be in a RECESSION.”
The ad shows scenes intended to evoke Americans struggling as they go about their lives: a man putting gas in his pickup truck, a family standing morosely in front of a house with a for-sale sign, construction workers in hard hats, a man looking somberly out a window scratching his head. Another headline warns, “Bidenomics hits families with $5,600 pay cut,” before grainy video shows Ms. Harris happily declaring, “We are very proud of Bidenomics.”
The ad ends with a close-up of Ms. Harris laughing, followed by a photo of Mr. Trump pumping his fist in front of an American flag and the words “Americans trust Trump on the economy.”
The Script
Narrator: “Their Bidenomics led to the highest inflation in 40 years. Highest gas prices ever. Skyrocketing interest rates. Unaffordable housing. Incomes down. Unemployment rising. And a recession now headed our way. Yet Kamala Harris is clueless.”
Harris: “We are very proud of Bidenomics. Bidenomics is working.”
Accuracy
The ad accurately cites some economic data, including the high inflation, rising interest rates and record gas prices that occurred during Mr. Biden’s term in office. The ad blames the president’s economic policies for those outcomes. Economists disagree about the role his policies have played. Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden both passed government stimulus spending packages in response to Covid. Republicans have blamed the Biden package for rising inflation, but Democrats credit it for smoothing the nation’s recovery from the pandemic. Unemployment is now lower than when Mr. Biden took office, though it has risen slightly from its low point in 2022.
The Takeaway
This ad encapsules two of Mr. Trump’s main political objectives in the final stages of the race: Remind voters of what they did not like about Mr. Biden’s presidency, and tie Ms. Harris to those things. Mr. Trump may not be running against Mr. Biden anymore, but the ad is not subtle in showing how central the president remains to his strategy. Not only does it show Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris together, the word “Bidenomics” repeatedly appears onscreen and Ms. Harris says the phrase twice, approvingly.
Showing Ms. Harris laughing is an unsubtle way to portray her as out of touch or unconcerned with the economic pain Americans are feeling.
The final words that appear are an attempt to remind voters what polls show they already believe: that Mr. Trump is someone they can trust on economic issues. The Trump campaign believes that if voters are focused chiefly on the economy in November, he will win.
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