Attack ads mark the presidential debate between Biden and Trump

Large images of former President Donald Trump are seen on a truck in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024. Supporters of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will gather near the CNN campus where both candidates will hold their first debate. Agence France-Presse

ATLANTA – Giant billboards in Atlanta greet Donald Trump as a “convicted felon,” while television ads show President Joe Biden falling off his bicycle.

Thursday’s debate between the two rivals in the 2024 White House race saw increased personal attacks on both sides in an election campaign already marked by bitter hostility.

To commemorate the event in Georgia’s state capital, Biden’s Democratic Party funded several giant billboards throughout the city.

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“Donald, welcome to Atlanta for the first time since your conviction. Congratulations – or whatever,” read the sarcastic message under a picture of Trump’s mug shot.

Trump was recently found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York, while the mug shot comes from a separate case in Georgia, where he was charged with trying to overturn the 2020 election results.

Team Trump is not exactly a man of restraint and had its own attacks ready.

READ: Biden and Trump in direct duel: How to watch their first debate

A 30-second television ad aired during the debate brutally mocks Biden’s advanced age of 81.

The film, titled “Who’s Laughing Now,” features footage of Biden stumbling on the stairs of his Air Force One plane, falling while strapped to his bicycle, and appearing lost on stage.

The narrator suggests that Biden is too weak to serve a second term.

“Do you think the guy who failed on the stairs, got knocked to the ground by his bike, lost a fight with his jacket and regularly gets lost will make it four more years in the White House?” asks the voice-over.

Thomas Tulis (left) speaks with Bob Kunst of Miami Beach, Florida, who is supporting Donald Trump in his presidential election on June 27, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. Supporters of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will gather near the CNN campus where both candidates will hold their first debate. Agence France-Presse

Another ad focuses on Biden’s perceived weaknesses of migration and inflation: “After four years of failure under Joe Biden, it’s time to make America prosperous and strong again.”

Violent attacks were also fired on social media and in print ads. For example, hours before the debate, Trump posted that Biden was “a threat to the survival and existence of our country itself.”

Biden’s campaign launched a new campaign “outlining Trump’s extreme agenda” in the event he wins the November 5 election and then enacts a nationwide abortion ban.

One ad contrasts “Donald Trump’s record as a selfish criminal with President Biden’s record fighting for the American people.”