Joe Biden targets Black vote in new ads, one with a Florida connection

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden launched a pair of ads Monday that make the campaign’s case to Black voters, and one of them is localized to Florida.

The ads are billed as a “continuation of the testimonial-style ads highlighting Black Americans discussing in their own words their experiences in Trump’s America and why they support Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”

One of the spots has a specific Florida connection, featuring a Tallahassee resident, Malik Gary, who describes the particular peril he feels as a supermarket employee laboring during the pandemic.

“Not only am I a Black male, but now I’m more endangered by being an essential worker,” Gary said in the ad.

He believes that a Biden election would bring a “real change” to America.

The 30-second spot featuring Gary is the second Tallahassee-focused Biden spot in the campaign; an ad released last month showcased Adriana Williams, in an ad saying that the protests on the streets of Tallahassee were a call for systemic change.

A second ad, meanwhile, will be seen nationally.

Set in a Black barber shop in North Carolina, the spot shows a group of six men sitting in chairs and having discussions about the presidential campaign.

“From the top, we don’t trust our government,” said a man identified as Antoine. “We see the trouble we’re in economically. We got 170,000 Americans dead, and yet this President will do anything he can to make it seem like things are better than they are.”

The ad cuts to a shot of President Donald Trump claiming he did more for Black Americans than anyone except former President Abraham Lincoln, which occasioned a burst of laughter from the barber shop Biden-backers.

The Biden campaign notes in the media release accompanying this creative that it is spending more on voter outreach to Black voters than any General Election campaign in history.