Kamala Harris’ 2019 Trump attack ad goes viral after Biden drops out

Joe Biden is has dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, and the Democratic Party already appears to be rallying around Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him at the top of the ticket and take on Donald Trump.

Harris, a former senator and California attorney general, previously ran for president in 2020 but lost to Biden in the Democratic primary. After Biden withdrew from the race, one of Harris’ 2019 ads attacking Trump went viral. Commentators pointed out that it was an example of what voters could expect in a head-to-head matchup with the former president. The Democratic delegates who will decide the nomination are taking notice.

The ad, written more than five years ago, still feels like a current, fresh attack on Trump. “I have prosecuted sex offenders. Trump is one of them. I have shut down fraudulent colleges that were out to get profits. He ran one. I have held big banks accountable. They own it. I’m not just ready to take on Trump, I’m ready to beat him,” the post’s caption reads.

“He’s a world-leading tantrum-thrower, she never loses her cool,” the video says of the two candidates at the time. “She has prosecuted sex offenders, he is one.” The attack gained new resonance after Trump was found guilty of sexual assault and defamation in a civil lawsuit filed by author E. Jean Carroll in 2023.

“He’s tearing us apart, she’ll bring us together,” the ad continues. “That’s Trump, and (Harris) is the anti-Trump in every way.”

Jennifer Lazslo Mizrahi, a Democratic delegate from Maryland, said she and other delegates, many of whom are behind Harris, were “really, really impressed with what she’s offering and how she’s going about it. She’s just very strong.”

Mizrahi referred to the old ad when commenting on Harris’s support, saying it showed “the contrast between her and Donald Trump. I think it’s just very timely.”

Mizrahi and other delegates will cast their votes for a candidate at the Democratic National Convention in August – or sooner if the Democratic Committee decides to hold a virtual vote in the coming weeks. Given the number of prominent statements of support Harris is receiving as the party attempts to unite around her, it is extremely likely that she will be the nominee.