The Democratic super PAC supporting Joe Biden’s White House campaign is airing a television advertisement in key battleground states that blames President Trump for the nearly 57,000 deaths attributed to the coronavirus in the United States.
Priorities USA on Tuesday announced the new, 30-second spot would run in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, states where recent polling has shown Biden with an advantage and that are critical to Trump’s reelection prospects. In the ad, the super PAC accuses Trump of mismanaging the pandemic, causing the spread of the coronavirus and the deaths, and massive unemployment that occurred as a result.
“Donald Trump said he would put America first, and now, he has,” the voice-over says as the Priorities USA spot opens. “The United States leads the world in coronavirus cases. More than 50,000 Americans dead — twice as many deaths as any other country. Over 26 million people have lost their jobs, and it’s only getting worse.”
Federal election law prohibits the Biden campaign and outside groups such as Priorities USA from coordinating efforts to oust Trump. But campaigns are permitted to designate favored organizations, and Biden, the former vice president, has urged deep-pocketed supporters of his 2020 bid to contribute to Priorities USA.
The super PAC has reserved more than $65 million of television time to counter Trump and assist Biden, whose campaign is underfunded as it attempts to ramp up for the fall after he emerged as the last candidate standing in the Democratic primary. This latest ad is a part of that spending, and one of multiple advertisements it has in rotation on television networks and digital platforms.
Priorities USA has spent $10 million on its media campaign against the president thus far, the group said in a press release. On the Republican side, America First Action, Trump’s designated super PAC, has countered with television spots tying Biden to the Chinese government and its negligent handling of the coronavirus.
