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Biden launches new ad aimed at black Americans

Published:Friday | August 7, 2020 | 12:12 AM
Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice-President Joe Biden, speaks at a campaign event at the William ‘Hicks’ Anderson Community Center in Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday.
Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice-President Joe Biden, speaks at a campaign event at the William ‘Hicks’ Anderson Community Center in Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday.

DETROIT (AP):

Joe Biden’s Democratic presidential campaign has launched a new national ad focused on black Americans, urging them to stand up to President Donald Trump the way their ancestors stood up to “violent racists of a generation ago”.

The one-minute ad, which was shared exclusively with The Associated Press before its digital and television release on Thursday, is meant to drum up support among black Americans, a key constituency for Biden, ahead of November’s general election. The ad, titled ‘Better America,’ also takes a direct swipe at Trump, without mentioning the Republican president by name.

CHOICE TO FIGHT

“We must choose to fight for that better America,” the narrator states. “And just like our ancestors who stood up to the violent racists of a generation ago, we will stand up to this president and say, ‘No more,’ because America is better than him. So we choose to be bigger. We choose to be bolder. We choose to bring back justice, respect and dignity to this country. We choose Joe Biden to lead us all towards that American promise together.”

BLACK SUPPORT

African Americans have largely supported Biden’s presidential bid and have been credited with single-handedly transforming the Democratic presidential race and cementing his status as front-runner after his decisive primary win in South Carolina.

But black Americans, who form one of the party’s most loyal voting blocs, have been hit doubly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic – they have died from the virus at disproportionate rates across the country, and they’ve borne the brunt of its economic fallout. And in recent months, historic protests against police brutality and systemic racism have changed the national discourse around race, thrusting it into a national spotlight and at the heart of the presidential campaign.