By Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s campaign will focus on condemnations of Republican challenger Donald Trump as part of a $50 million ad campaign ahead of the first presidential debate between the two candidates on June 27.
The move marks a notable shift in Biden’s approach to convicting Trump, after the president’s initial reluctance to weigh in on the issue to avoid interfering with Trump’s legal troubles.
“Character Matters,” a 30-second ad that says “this election is between a convicted criminal who is only out for himself, and a president who fights for your family,” creating a contrast between the two candidates, will hit all theaters take place that switched between Republicans and Democrats during the recent elections as of Monday.
Trump was convicted by a jury in New York on May 30 of 34 crimes for falsifying company records. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Biden and Trump remain tied in national polls with less than five months to go until the election, while Trump has the lead in the battleground states that will decide the election, pre-conviction polls show. On economic issues such as inflation, Trump generally scores higher with voters than Biden.
Biden’s campaign and several Democrats were initially reluctant to emphasize Trump’s beliefs and took a wait-and-see approach to advertising and new strategies. They wanted to see polls and voter feedback before responding strongly.
Earlier this month, at a fundraiser with a small group of donors in Greenwich, Connecticut, Biden for the first time called Trump a “convicted felon” and said his predecessor poses a greater threat to the United States if he wins another term.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken just after Trump’s conviction found that 10% of Republican voters said they would be less likely to vote for Trump in November after his conviction, a significant number considering the narrow margins that decide the American presidential elections.
Trump also faces criminal charges in three other cases: an election interference case in Georgia, a Florida documents case and a federal election interference case. He is also appealing the results of his civil trials.
Biden’s son Hunter was convicted by a jury this month of lying about his illegal drug use to buy a gun, making him the first child of a sitting US president to be convicted of a crime. Polls, including Reuters/Ipsos, show a large majority of voters say Hunter’s conviction will have no impact on their vote in the Nov. 5 election.
The June 27 debate between Biden and Trump, billed as one of the key moments of this year’s campaign calendar, is less than two weeks away, with both campaigns rushing to prepare for the first showdown.
The debate will include two commercial breaks, no props and muted microphones except when acknowledged as being allowed to speak, said CNN, which will host the debate in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday.
The Biden campaign’s April fundraising lagged behind Trump’s for the first time after the former president ramped up his joint operation with the Republican National Committee and headlined high-dollar fundraisers.
The Democrats still retained an overall cash advantage over Trump and the Biden campaign still has a significantly larger war chest. On Saturday, Biden raised $30 million at a star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles, California.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Heather Timmmons and Lincoln Feast.)
