House Republicans target vulnerable Democrats over Biden’s health

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) unveiled a new ad campaign Thursday targeting vulnerable Democrats over President Biden’s health.

The NRCC launched a digital ad targeting 10 Democrats Thursday titled “Cover Up” that takes aim at the lawmakers for meeting privately with Biden and not raising concerns about his “mental failures.”

“Extreme House Democrats are complicit in hiding the president’s drastic mental decline. After two weeks of silence, it’s clear they still want Joe Biden in the Oval Office—not because of his cognitive function—but because they know in his diminished state he is a rubber stamp for their extreme agenda,” NRCC national press secretary Will Reinert said in a statement.

The campaign ads open with the narrator stating that this is the “scandal of the century” and “our president lacks the mental fitness for office.”

The ads include clips of Biden appearing to look confused at times and tripping and failing on stairs with quotes from the lawmakers that appear to signal their support for the president.

The campaign is targeting Democrat Reps. Marcy Kaptur (Ohio), Jahana Hayes (Conn.), Eric Sorensen (Ill.), Don Davis (N.C.), Gabe Vasquez (N.M.), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Susan Wild (Pa.), Jared Golden (Maine), Yadira Caraveo (Colo.) and Mary Sattler Peltola (Alaska).

“Peltola met privately with Joe Biden. She witnessed Biden’s mental failures up close, but allowed crises to rage under Biden’s frail leadership. Mary Peltola ignored our concerns,” the ad targeting Peltola stated.

A handful of Democrats have called on Biden to step down from the ticket following a poor debate performance last month.

Golden, one of the Democrats targeted, wrote an op-ed earlier this month arguing that former President Trump is going to win the election and that he’s “OK with that,” but did not call on Biden to step aside.

Some Democrats in competitive races have also expressed little confidence in Biden winning November’s election. Despite the calls for Biden to step down from within the party, he has maintained he will not withdraw from the race.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Viet Shelton pointed to the “strength” of the Democratic candidates when reached for comment on the campaign. 

“House races have always been about the strength of our candidates, combined with the fact that Democrats deliver when in charge while extreme Republicans sow chaos – and the public knows this. The NRCC’s lame attempt to distract from this reality doesn’t change the fact that polling consistently shows Democrats outrunning their Republican opponents across the battleground,” Shelton said in a statement to The Hill. 

— Updated at 3:52 p.m.