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President Biden’s reelection campaign on Thursday unleashed a media volley in Arizona after the state’s Supreme Court upheld a near-total abortion ban based on a law passed in 1864.
The seven-figure ad buy highlights former President Donald Trump’s record on abortion and tying him to the Arizona court’s decision. Mr. Trump has taken credit for the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022 and this week said states should decide abortion policy.
A 30-second commercial, which first aired Thursday on MSNBC, will target young, female and Latino voters on TV and online, the campaign said.
“Your body and your decisions belong to you, not the government, not Donald Trump,” Mr. Biden says directly to the camera. “I will fight like hell to get your freedom back.”
Another 60-second spot features testimony from a Texas woman who says she nearly died twice from a miscarriage because she was denied care.
At the end of the video, the ad text says, “Donald Trump did this.”
Yet Mr. Trump was quick to say the Arizona court erred. “Yeah, they did,” he said Wednesday. “That’ll be straightened out. I’m sure that the governor and everybody else are going to bring it back to within reason.”
The Biden campaign will air the ads in Arizona during shows like “Abbot Elementary,” “Survivor,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “American Idol,” “The Voice” and “Saturday Night Live,” as well as sports events and other programming on TNT, TLC, ESPN, FX and Bravo.
“This week, women across the state of Arizona are watching in horror as an abortion ban from 1864 with no exceptions for rape, incest or the health of a woman will soon become the law of the land for Arizonans,” campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement Thursday. “This nightmare is only possible because of Donald Trump.”
Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to travel Friday to Tucson, Arizona, where she will hold a political event focused on freedom to have an abortion.
When asked Wednesday for his message to Arizona voters after the state Supreme Court decision, Mr. Biden said, “Elect me,” adding that the ruling came from before Arizona was even a state.
The Washington Times reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
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• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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