President Biden’s reelection campaign dropped an ad that hits former President Trump over his rhetoric about veterans on the week of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy.
The one-minute video, titled “What Trump Thinks,” includes quotes of Trump making negative comments about military members, some of which he has denied since they were first reported.
The video highlights that Trump reportedly referred to American veterans buried in France as “losers” and “suckers” in 2018. Biden is set to visit the same cemetery in France on Sunday.
Trump has previously denied making the “suckers” remark, though it was later confirmed by his former chief of staff John Kelly.
The video notes that Trump repeatedly mocked then-Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was a prisoner in the Vietnam War.
It also featured that Trump told a war widow that her husband “knew what he signed up for.” Trump in 2017 denied that he made those remarks.
Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler argued in a statement that the video shows the difference between Biden and Trump’s treatment toward veterans and service members.
“The choice this November could not be more obvious: Donald Trump has no respect for our men and women in uniform, their families, or the freedoms many of them gave the ultimate sacrifice to defend,” Tyler said. “President Biden, a military father, values and respects soldiers and their families. President Biden will continue to deliver on getting veterans the health care and benefits they need and deserve. Donald Trump simply does not care.”
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung bashed Biden in response to the video, noting that the then-vice president called troops “stupid bastards” during a military base address and was seen looking at his watch during the dignified transfer of those who died in the Kabul airport bombings in 2021.
“Joe Biden has disrespected U.S. service members by calling them ‘silly bastards,’ showed his lack of empathy by repeatedly checking his watch during a solemn ceremony for soldiers killed during the catastrophic Afghanistan withdrawal, and been criticized by Gold Star families for his lack of respect. The fact is that under Biden, America is weaker on the world stage and has made America more vulnerable,” Cheung said.
On Thursday, the Biden campaign dropped an ad featuring three veterans who slammed Trump as a “draft dodger” and argued that he’s unfit to be commander in chief.
The two videos come as Biden is in France for the anniversary of D-Day. He made remarks on Thursday and Friday, taking subtle digs at Trump’s America First agenda and his slogan, Make America Great Again.