President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is launching a series of new ads in five early-voting states, including Georgia, attempting to paint his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, as a tool of the “radical left.”
The other states in which the new ads are being launched are Florida, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Minnesota, the latter two states having experienced major protests over police-related incidents involving Black men.
The ads in Minnesota and Wisconsin are titled “Lawless” and allege weak responses to protests from Biden and “the radical left” has led to “chaos and violence.”
The ads in the remaining states, including Georgia, according to Fox News, will also attempt to similarly define Biden.
Trump visited Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, blaming “domestic terror” for the violence that was spurred by the police shooting of Jacob Blake, who was left paralyzed after being shot in the back seven times by an officer last week.
“These are not acts of peaceful protest but, really, domestic terror,” said Trump, condemning Democratic officials for not immediately accepting his offer of federal enforcement assistance, claiming, “They just don’t want us to come.”
The city has been the scene of protests since the Aug. 23 shooting of Blake, who was shot as he tried to get into a car while police were trying to arrest him. Trump predicted chaos would descend on cities across America if voters elect Biden to replace him in November.
Biden hit back, speaking to donors on a fundraising call after Trump left Kenosha.
“Donald Trump has failed to protect America. So now he’s trying to scare the hell out of America,” Biden said. “Violence isn’t a problem in Donald Trump’s eyes. It’s a political strategy.”
The election is playing out in “anxious times,” with “multiple crises,” Biden said. He included police violence in the list, along with the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout. Biden said Trump refuses to address any of them honestly.
Wisconsin’s Democratic governor, Tony Evers, asked Trump to stay away for fear of straining tensions further.
“I am concerned your presence will only hinder our healing,” Evers wrote in a letter to Trump. “I am concerned your presence will only delay our work to overcome division and move forward together.”
Trump insists that he, not Biden, is the leader best positioned to keep Americans safe. He said his appearance in Kenosha would “increase enthusiasm” in Wisconsin, a hotly contested battleground state in the presidential race.
Trump announced Tuesday that his administration was making $5 million available to the city and sending more than $42 million to the state, with most of the funding aimed at bolstering law enforcement, he said.
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