Harris Targets Trump’s Criminal Record In First Ad

Topline

Vice President Kamala Harris debuted her first ad for president Thursday, days after announcing she will seek the Democratic nomination—setting off a rushed process to familiarize voters with her record, persona and promises for the presidency less than four months before the election.

Vice President and Democratic Presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at West Allis Central High … [+] School during her first campaign rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 23, 2024. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

Harris narrates the ad, titled “We Choose Freedom,” as Beyoncé’s “Freedom” plays in the backdrop (Harris reportedly walked into the Biden-Harris campaign headquarters as the song played Monday, and the singer has granted her permission to use it throughout the campaign, CNN reported).

Harris doesn’t explicitly mention former President Donald Trump in the ad, but it shows him and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, as she says “there are some people who think we should be a country of chaos, of fear, of hate.”

Building on Harris’ bid to draw contrast between Trump’s criminal record and her own as a prosecutor, newspapers printed with headlines about Trump’s criminal cases flash across the screen when she says “we choose a future . . . where no one is above the law.”

The “freedom” line is quickly becoming a mantra for the Harris campaign—she opened her first campaign speech in Wisconsin on Tuesday by telling the crowd the election will be “a choice between freedom and chaos” on Tuesday and walked onto the stage as the Beyoncé track played.

The upbeat digital ad, airing across the campaign’s social media platforms, also mentions several key issues championed by Democrats, including curbing gun violence, preserving women’s reproductive rights, reducing child poverty and expanding affordable health care.

Crucial Quote

“In this election, we each face a question. What kind of country do we want to live in?” Harris begins the ad. “We believe in the promise of America and we are ready to fight for it. Because when we fight, we win. So join us.”

Key Background

Harris debuted the ad less than four days after launching her presidential campaign in the minutes after President Joe Biden’s historic decision to exit the race. She is all but certain to become the nominee after Biden endorsed her and the majority of his delegates vowed to support her when they vote to formalize the party’s nominee during the first week of August. Harris, in her campaign speech Tuesday, has touted her record as a prosecutor (she served as California attorney general prior to her election to the Senate) in drawing contrast with Trump, who was convicted earlier this year of 34 counts of falsifying business records, found liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in a separate civil case last year, and ordered to pay more than $450 million for defrauding lenders in a third civil case earlier this year. “I took on perpetrators of all kinds . . . so hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump’s type,” she said.

Contra

Trump has coined the nickname “Lyin’ Kamala” for Harris, calling her “a radical, crazy person” and an “ultra liberal” during his first rally since Biden dropped out of the race in North Carolina on Wednesday. Trump also blamed Harris for an influx of illegal immigration, calling her Biden’s “border czar” in reference to her role working with Central American countries to curb migration to the U.S. border

Tangent

Early polls taken after Biden’s announcement Sunday show Harris losing to Trump by a narrow margin, but performing slightly better than Biden, including an online CNN/SSRS survey that shows Harris trailing Trump by three points, a three-point improvement from Biden’s performance against Trump in polls taken in April and June.