Scott Powers
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden‘s campaign is running a digital ad in Florida spotlighting the nation’s response to the George Floyd slaying and his Philadelphia speech on that Tuesday.
The new 60-second digital commercial “Build The Future” is running on social media in key battleground states including Florida, Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
The spot mixes dramatic images and video from the recent protests, President Donald Trump‘s Monday photo-op at the St. John’s Episcopal Church, a White House appearing under siege, white nationalists marching in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, and Biden meeting with black leaders and protesters, and delivering his crisis address in Philadelphia.
“The country is crying out for leadership, leadership that can unite us, leadership that can bring us together,” he declares in the ad.
In the Philadelphia speech, and so in the new ad, Biden promises, “I won’t traffic in fear and division. I won’t fan the flames of hate. I’ll seek to heal the racial wounds that have long plagued our country, not use them for political gain.”
He then pivots to talking about building a better future, saying that’s an America thing to do.
“This is the United States of America. There’s never been anything we’ve been unable to do when we set our mind to it and we’ve done it together,” he says.
The ad started running Wednesday on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, targeting constituencies the campaign hopes to persuade to turn out, notably younger and more diverse voters in battleground states.
Trump Victory spokesperson Emma Vaughn responded:
“It took two days for Joe Biden to call an end to violence across our nation while his campaign was actively endorsing anarchy by paying the bail of rioters. In stark contrast, President Trump is bringing justice to the family of George Floyd, defending the rights of peaceful protesters, and demanding law and order.”
A version of the ad will run with Spanish language captions.
“After Joe Biden’s address to the nation Tuesday as American communities grapple with civil unrest because of the systemic racism that pervades our society, we saw a country that was hungry for a leader that can listen to concerns, display empathy, and heal the deep wounds of racial injustice,” the campaign stated in a news release announcing the ad.
