WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is launching a new digital ad Tuesday slamming the Republican vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance, as “extremist” and a “danger to our democracy.”
The spot argues Vance, R-Ohio, “could be a heartbeat away” from the presidency if Donald Trump wins in November, the first time the Democratic ticket has gone after the former president’s age in paid media since she became the Democratic nominee, according to a Harris official.
The 50-second ad, which will target voters in battleground states, concludes with video of Trump appearing to slur his words at an event and then a Fox News host saying, “The former president, he’s been off his game.” It is the first time the Harris campaign has used such clips in any of its ads, the official said.
Age was a dominant campaign issue when President Joe Biden, 81, was still a candidate. Trump is 78 years old.
The Harris campaign video comes just hours before her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is set to face off against Vance in their vice presidential debate.
It features Vance’s own words, including when he said: “I certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally”; comments he made on a podcast when he was running for the Senate in 2022; and “We really need to be ruthless when it comes to the exercise of power,” a comment he made about the loss of cultural institutions by conservatives.
“He’s not just weird or dangerous. He could be a heartbeat away from the Oval Office,” the narrator says toward the end of the spot.
Throughout, there are images of Project 2025, a conservative think tank’s blueprint for a second Trump term, in an attempt to closely link Vance to it. Republicans, including Trump and Vance, have tried to distance themselves from the plan, despite the ties between the authors and allies of both candidates.
“The American people have made it clear: they don’t like JD Vance, his plans to ban abortion nationwide, or his extreme Project 2025 views,” Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika told NBC News in a statement. “Debate day will be yet another reminder to voters about the stakes of this election, and a stark warning that a victory for Donald Trump could place Vance, America’s least favorite extremist, just a heartbeat away from the presidency.”
