Biden makes final pitch to Iowans with 2-minute ad ahead of caucuses
With two days to go until the 'first in the nation’ Iowa caucuses, former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign is launching a final, two-minute ad called “Right Here” that seeks to drive home the message they’ve crafted over Biden’s nine months in the 2020 race.
Beginning with images of the 2017 attacks in Charlottesville that Biden credits as motivating him to undertake his presidential run, and ending with a portion of the former vice president’s remarks calling for unity at his launch rally in Philadelphia back in May, the ad is a full-circle, final pitch to voters ahead of the caucuses, Biden campaign officials say.
“If Donald Trump is re-elected, I believe he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation,” Biden is heard saying in the ad while a montage of Trump appears on screen.
“But it ends, right here, right now,” the ad continues, as Biden argues the need for a president who can unite the country and be ready to start the job on Day One.
The decision to release one final ad, and its extended length, was made with the intention of wrapping up the arguments Biden has driven home during his time on the campaign trail in an effort to persuade Iowans that Biden is best suited to take on Trump in November, according to the Biden campaign.
The ad will air in the Des Moines and Cedar Rapids television markets from Saturday until caucus day.
The Biden campaign is also seeking to counter President Trump’s Super Bowl Sunday ad purchase by airing an ad of their own during the big game. A 30-second version of their ad "Character," which focuses on how a president’s character is formed, will air during the Super Bowl in those markets as well.
Biden campaign officials had previously said that their final ad in Iowa would be an ad released Tuesday entitled “Imagine,” which focuses on issues that Biden hopes to tackle as president. However the campaign ultimately decided to move ahead with their lengthier ad.
The campaign will also continue to run their ad “Threat,” which warns viewers that the 2020 election is “not the time to take a risk.”
All told, since August the Biden campaign has released more than 20 different television ads in markets across Iowa, as a part of a $4 million advertising buy in the state.
Those ad buys have also been bolstered by "Unite the Country,” a super PAC supporting Biden that has actually outspent the Biden campaign on advertising in the state -- spending nearly $4.7 million on ads in Iowa alone.
