On Debate Day, Harris Mocks Trump Using Criticism from His Own Administration
The Harris campaign plans to broadcast the ad in Philadelphia and in the vicinity of Mar-a-Lago, in addition to airing it on Fox News.
TroibNews 
Kamala Harris aims to get inside Donald Trump’s head ahead of Tuesday’s debate with a new advertisement showcasing harsh evaluations of the former president from some of his previous top officials.
The ad, named “The Best People,” highlights clips from media interviews with former Trump administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, national security adviser John Bolton, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley. In these excerpts, they discuss their reasons for not endorsing Trump and express concerns about the risks he could pose if elected again.
Scheduled to air nationally on Fox News, the ad will also target media markets in West Palm Beach—where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is located—and Philadelphia on the day of the debate. The ad will continue to run throughout the week, according to the Harris campaign.
“In 2016 Donald Trump said he would choose only the best people to work in his White House,” a narrator states in the ad. “Now those people have a warning for America: Trump is not fit to be president again.”
The narrator then introduces Pence, who states, “it should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year.” The ad goes on to feature critiques from Esper, Bolton, and Milley.
“Donald Trump will cause a lot of damage. The only thing he cares about is Donald Trump,” Bolton asserts in a clip.
This latest ad is part of Harris's ambitious $370 million digital and television campaign strategy.
According to Quentin Fulks, principal deputy campaign manager for Harris-Walz, “This ad will remind Fox News viewers, perhaps even a certain defeated former president himself, about how Trump’s own national security team can’t stomach him anymore because of how he’d put the country at risk. To every American who understands the threat that Donald Trump poses, who cares about upholding the Constitution, who believes in the rule of law, and who knows America is stronger when it leads, there’s a home for you in Vice President Harris’ campaign.”
The ad follows notable endorsements from Republicans for Harris last week, including Jim McCain, the son of the late senator and 2008 presidential nominee John McCain, as well as former Rep. Liz Cheney and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney.
“In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” the elder Cheney expressed in a statement. “He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again.”
In response, Trump took to Truth Social to remark, “Dick Cheney is an irrelevant RINO, along with his daughter, who lost by the largest margin in the History of Congressional Races!”
Earlier this summer, the Harris-Walz campaign featured former Trump national security official Olivia Troye and former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Grisham criticized Trump for having "no empathy, no morals and no fidelity to the truth” and both women declared their support for Harris in the upcoming 2024 election.
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
The ad, named “The Best People,” highlights clips from media interviews with former Trump administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, national security adviser John Bolton, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley. In these excerpts, they discuss their reasons for not endorsing Trump and express concerns about the risks he could pose if elected again.
Scheduled to air nationally on Fox News, the ad will also target media markets in West Palm Beach—where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is located—and Philadelphia on the day of the debate. The ad will continue to run throughout the week, according to the Harris campaign.
“In 2016 Donald Trump said he would choose only the best people to work in his White House,” a narrator states in the ad. “Now those people have a warning for America: Trump is not fit to be president again.”
The narrator then introduces Pence, who states, “it should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year.” The ad goes on to feature critiques from Esper, Bolton, and Milley.
“Donald Trump will cause a lot of damage. The only thing he cares about is Donald Trump,” Bolton asserts in a clip.
This latest ad is part of Harris's ambitious $370 million digital and television campaign strategy.
According to Quentin Fulks, principal deputy campaign manager for Harris-Walz, “This ad will remind Fox News viewers, perhaps even a certain defeated former president himself, about how Trump’s own national security team can’t stomach him anymore because of how he’d put the country at risk. To every American who understands the threat that Donald Trump poses, who cares about upholding the Constitution, who believes in the rule of law, and who knows America is stronger when it leads, there’s a home for you in Vice President Harris’ campaign.”
The ad follows notable endorsements from Republicans for Harris last week, including Jim McCain, the son of the late senator and 2008 presidential nominee John McCain, as well as former Rep. Liz Cheney and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney.
“In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” the elder Cheney expressed in a statement. “He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again.”
In response, Trump took to Truth Social to remark, “Dick Cheney is an irrelevant RINO, along with his daughter, who lost by the largest margin in the History of Congressional Races!”
Earlier this summer, the Harris-Walz campaign featured former Trump national security official Olivia Troye and former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Grisham criticized Trump for having "no empathy, no morals and no fidelity to the truth” and both women declared their support for Harris in the upcoming 2024 election.
Camille Lefevre contributed to this report for TROIB News
