Biden campaign ad calls MAGA an ‘extremist movement’

The first ad for President Joe Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign describes millions of Donald Trump supporters as “extremists” leading up to the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.

The video, which was released Thursday and titled “Cause,” highlights what Biden calls the “preservation of American democracy” as the “central issue” of the 81-year-old’s reelection campaign.

“There’s something dangerous happening in America,” the Democrat says in the ad’s voiceover. “There’s an extremist movement that does not share the basic beliefs of our democracy. All of us are being asked right now, what will we do to maintain our democracy?

“History’s watching. The world is watching.”

The ad features still images from the U.S. Capitol riot showing masked and hooded protesters holding up Trump signs and banners, as well as abbreviated video clips showing torch-carrying and Confederate-flag-waving protesters in white nationalist rallies. 

Biden adds, “The vice president and I have supported voting rights since day one of this administration, and I ask every American to join me in this cause. America’s still a place of possibilities, where the power presides with ‘we the people.'”

While Biden has avoided directly mentioning Trump’s name in previous speeches touching on Jan. 6, the campaign plans on “being more aggressive towards Trump,” leading up to a speech commemorating the riot, Axios reported.

It’s not the first time Biden has linked political support for Trump with “extremism.” In a Sept. 2022 speech, Biden said, “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic. … There is no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country.”

Some Christian leaders and conservative commentators slammed the new Biden ad, including author and podcaster Eric Metaxas, who equated the president to a former British king.

Metaxas tweeted, “Joe Biden is King George III. Those who love liberty are his enemies — so he calls us ‘extremists.’ Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin were ‘extremists.’ God bless America! This is our second Revolution to win liberty for all.”

Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk wrote on social media that the Democratic strategy unfolding in several states to have Trump’s name removed from the ballot runs counter to Biden’s comments on his “voting rights.”

“Joe Biden’s first 2024 campaign ad calls millions of Americans’ extremists’ and touts his voting rights record … as they are actively kicking Trump off the ballot,” wrote Kirk. “George Orwell is rolling over in his grave.”

Last month, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump cannot be placed on the ballot for the 2024 election, citing his connection to the U.S. Capitol riot.

Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the Colorado court decision, attended a private White House campaign event for Biden on Nov. 28. 

Also in December, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced her intention to remove Trump from the 2024 ballot pending a court challenge. 

Cases have been filed in more than a dozen states to have Trump thrown off the 2024 ballot under a disputed legal theory involving the 14th Amendment, which prohibits anyone from holding office who previously has taken an oath to defend the Constitution and then later “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the country or given “aid or comfort” to its enemies, The Associated Press reports.

To date, Trump has not been charged with or convicted of insurrection or rebellion.

Last August, a federal grand jury indicted Trump on four counts related to efforts to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election on Tuesday. 

The grand jury charged the 77-year-old former president with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights.

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