'Fearless' or 'failed?' Kamala Harris launches TV ad to define her record and so does Trump
WASHINGTON – Is Kamala Harris a “fearless” leader who has taken on big banks and drug companies for the American people?
Or is she “failed, weak” and “dangerously liberal?”
One week after Harris quickly emerged as the new Democratic presumptive nominee, the Harris and Donald Trump campaigns for president set out hastily Tuesday to define Harris with dueling television ads that will air in critical battleground states likely to decide the 2024 election.
A 60-second ad from the Harris campaign introduces Harris to a broader electorate by saying, “The one thing Kamala Harris has always been: fearless.” The ad traces her career as a prosecutor “putting murders and abusers behind bars,” as California attorney general going after “the big banks” and as vice president going after “the big drug companies.”
“Because Kamala Harris has always known who she represents,” a narrator says in the ad.
The Trump campaign, in a 30-second television ad of its own, calls Harris “America’s border czar,” seizing on her role as the Biden administration’s point person to tackle root causes of migration at the U.S.-Mexico border. The ad blames Harris for illegal migration, fentanyl overdoses, "brutal migrant crimes," and allegedly making the U.S. susceptible to domestic terrorism. (Following strict new Biden administration rules, illegal border crossings last month hit their lowest level since Biden took office, and data shows immigrants are not more likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.)
Throughout the ad, Harris is shown dancing at a White House celebration for hip-hop music held last year. "Kamala Harris ? failed, weak, dangerously liberal," it concludes.
Big media blitz
The Harris campaign said its ad is part of a $50 million paid media blitz ahead of the Democratic National Convention, set to begin Aug. 19 in Chicago. The DNC plans to formally nominate Harris by virtual rollcall before Aug. 7.
The Trump campaign reserved $12.2 million in media markets in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin for its attack ad against Harris, according to AdImpact, which tracks political ads.
Since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race earlier this month, Harris has quickly coalesced Democrats behind her bid, raising more than $200 million and improving on Biden's poor poll numbers.
But Republican attacks against Harris are expected to ramp up, with a focus especially on the border.
"Harris is dangerously liberal and Americans are paying the price," said Danielle Alvarez, a Trump campaign senior advisor.
Harris campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa rejected the claims of the Trump attack ad in a statement, noting that Senate Republicans pulled out of a bipartisan deal to strengthen border security after Trump came out against it. “After killing the toughest border deal in decades, Donald Trump is running on his trademark lies because his own record and ‘plans’ are extreme and unpopular," he said.
The Harris ad also looks to contrast Harris and Trump ? painting Harris as the forward-thinking candidate and Trump as stuck in the past.
“This campaign is about who we fight for," Harris says in the ad, replaying remarks she made at a campaign rally last week in Milwaukee. "Donald Trump wants to take our country backward. To give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations and end the Affordable Care Act,” Harris says in the ad. “But we are not going back.”
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Harris ad.
Harris almost immediately catapulted to the top of the Democratic ticket after Biden dropped out of the race July 21. Since then, the vice president quickly garnered the support of Democratic leaders and organizers, as well as raked in record levels of cash. Of the whopping $200 million she raised in less than a week, 66% came from first-time donors.
With less than 100 days until the general election, Harris has not pumped the brakes on campaigning. She held her first campaign rally in Milwaukee, just two days after Biden dropped out. And she will hold a rally in Atlanta, Georgia on Tuesday, a key battleground state that Biden won in 2020 by several thousand votes. Rapper Megan Thee Stallion is expected to join Harris in Atlanta.
Harris campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon, in a statement, said Harris has "always stood up to bullies" throughout her career on behalf of the American people. "And she’s beaten them. She’s uniquely suited to take on Donald Trump, a convicted felon who has spent his entire life ripping off working people, tearing away our rights, and fighting for himself," she said.
Since announcing her candidacy, Harris has faced racist and misogynistic attacks from members of the Republican Party. She has been labeled a “DEI candidate” — a talking point using the acronym for diversity, equity and inclusion that conservatives are using to disqualify people of color or women who ascend to positions of power and influence.
A video of Sen. J.D. Vance, Trump’s running mate resurfaced recently that implied Harris was among top Democrats who were “childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made.”
Vance, who made those comments during an appearance on Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight" in July 2021 while he was running for Ohio's U.S. Senate seat, said “the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children." Harris is the step-mother of two children.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fight to define Kamala Harris is underway with competing TV ads