Biden campaign launches $50M pre-debate ad blitz focusing on Trump’s conviction

(WASHINGTON) — With just more than a week until the first presidential debate, President Joe Biden’s campaign is increasing attacks on former President Donald Trump’s felony conviction, announcing on Monday that it’s launching a $50 million ad buy targeting voters in battleground states highlighting the verdict in Trump’s hush-money trial.

The 30-second spot, which will air in battleground states throughout the rest of June, trades clips of a smiling Biden greeting voters with shots of Trump scowling in court.

“This election is between a convicted criminal who’s only out for himself and a president who’s fighting for your family,” a narrator says.

The Trump campaign’s spokesperson criticized the new ads and are using the opportunity to push the false claims that Trump’s legal troubles stem from political motivations.

“This new ad once again proves the sham trial was always meant to be election interference, but Americans see through it,” Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt posted on X in response to the ad.

Since the verdict, which made Trump the first former president convicted of felony crimes, the Biden campaign has steadily leaned in to using Trump’s conviction as a strategy to show he isn’t fit for office.

The Democratic National Committee launched billboards near a Trump event calling him a “convicted felon,” while Biden himself used that language at a Connecticut fundraiser.

“Trump approaches the first debate as a convicted felon who continues to prove that he will do anything and harm anyone if it means more power and vengeance for Donald Trump,” Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign’s communications director, said in a statement Monday.

Polling since the end of the trial has suggested the conviction harms Trump among voters still making up their minds about their presidential pick.

A Politico Magazine/Ipsos poll published on Monday found that Trump’s conviction makes 32% of registered independents less likely to support Trump compared to 12% who said it makes them more likely to support him. Forty percent said it had no impact.

ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.

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