Joe Biden’s New Ad Using Trump’s Own Coronavirus Words Against Him Could Be His Best One Yet

Source: Drew Angerer / Getty

If there was one thing that people can say for sure about Joe Biden‘s presidential candidacy, it’s that his political ad game has been on point the entire time he’s been running, bar none. If the ads are not busy perfectly personalizing and trying to endear Biden to voters, then they’re going after his political rivals with the type of laser precision typically reserved for surgeons.

It was the latter approach that was reserved for his most recent ad about President Donald Trump‘s delayed and lackadaisical response to the coronavirus outbreak. Considering the urgency of the global pandemic that has made the U.S. its epicenter, Biden’s new ad hits extra hard and could resonate with people across Party lines who expect more decisive leadership from the White House in times of crises.

Biden tweeted out the ad from his own account on Tuesday night, hours before health officials on Wednesday declared that the U.S. had surpassed all other countries for having the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses in the world. That fact likely only served to make Biden’s new ad more effective as the presumptive Democratic nominee’s voice isn’t heard one single time during the ad’s entire 1:44 duration. Instead, the ad’s producers let Trump’s words speak for themselves as various soundbites of him downplaying the seriousness of the coronavirus are shown in chronological while a graphic on the screen keeps track of the growing number of cases.

Beginning with Trump’s Oval Office address to the nation on March 11 when Trump tried to convince Americans of “our nation’s unprecedented response to the coronavirus outbreak,” the ad then asks “HOW DID WE GET HERE?” After “rewinding” to Jan. 22, video footage shows Trump saying, “we have it totally under control.” That was back when there was just one confirmed case of the coronavirus being reported. Fast-forward more than a month later and the ad shows Trump saying about the virus, “One day it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.”

The rhythm of the ad is quickly established as it documents both Trump’s lies to the American people while juxtaposing them against the true quick-spreading deadly nature of the coronavirus that has infected at least 82,100 people and killed nearly 2,000 in the U.S.

The ad ends by telling viewers in no uncertain terms: “Real crises demand real leadership. Not lies. Not excuses. Not scapegoats.”

Health officials have predicted that the worst from the coronavirus is yet to come in the U.S. If that comes to fruition as expected, Biden’s powerful new ad could have a lasting effect as Trump continues to fumble his response to the exponential number of cases and deaths.

See the ad below and then scroll down to see the dozens of other perfectly executed ads that Biden and his team have released since he announced he was running for president nearly a year ago.