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Oldest-Ever US President Drops $49 Million on Election Ads Downplaying Age

© Sputnik / Pavel Bednyakov / Go to the mediabankUS President Joe Biden
US President Joe Biden  - Sputnik International, 1920, 09.11.2023
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In an effort to assuage the concerns of American voters, the re-election team for US President Joe Biden has launched a new ad campaign downplaying the importance of the octogenarian’s age ahead of the 2024 elections.
Between Biden’s campaign, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and his associated super political action committee (super PAC), the effort to re-elect Biden in November 2024 has spent $39 million on ads between August and November, many of which are aimed at countering criticisms of his age and his physical and mental acuity. However, others are more typical, touting what they perceive as his best policy achievements.

That’s more than former US President Donald Trump, who spent $31 million in that time attempting to secure the GOP’s nomination for 2024, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has spent $36 million on the same effort. The numbers for all three candidates’ campaigns were released to US media on Thursday by AdImpact, a firm that tracks spending on election ads.

The ads for Biden portray him as strong and capable, wearing his trademark aviator-style sunglasses and doing things such as walking through rubble in the Ukrainian capital, while a strong male voice praises his bravery and steadfastness for entering a war zone not controlled by the US.
Vice President Kamala Harris  - Sputnik International, 1920, 30.10.2023
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According to the lead pro-Biden campaigners, the ads are the vanguard of a $1 billion effort to turn around the 80-year-old president’s low approval rating and boost his image ahead of the November 2024 elections, which prospective “if the election were tomorrow” polls suggest he might lose in several key battleground states.
The most recent poll released by the New York Times and Siena, published on Monday, shows that between Trump and Biden, the two presumed nominees for the major parties, Trump has a strong lead in Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, in some cases by as much as 10 percentage points.

That same poll found that the number of voters concerned about Biden’s age had more than doubled over the last three years, rising from 34% in 2020 to 71% in 2023 saying he was too old to be president, 45% to 62% saying he doesn’t have the “mental sharpness to be president,” and 39% to 51% saying Biden lacks the temperament to be president.

By comparison, in 2023 just 39% say Trump is too old, 44% say he lacks the mental sharpness, and 55% say he lacks the temperament to be president, with the latter two actually declining since 2020. Trump is just three years younger than Biden.
That said, Biden hasn’t had a problem raising money. His campaign reported receiving $71.3 million in donations in the third quarter of 2023 alone, and said in early November it had $91 million on hand. By comparison, Trump, who is facing multiple high-profile felony cases, said in September he had just $37.5 million in the war chest.
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