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New Harris campaign ad highlights 'prosecutor' debate comments

By Brett Samuels - 9/14/24, 8:30 AM EDT

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The Harris campaign on Saturday unveiled an ad highlighting her pledge during the debate to put Americans first regardless of party, seeking to draw a contrast with some of former President Trump's comments.

The 30-second ad, which was shared first with The Hill, features an exchange from Tuesday's debate in which Harris argued Trump was "more interested in defending himself than he is in looking out for you."

The ad, called "Prosecutor," then cuts to a rally appearance earlier this year where Trump quipped to attendees, "I don’t care about you, I just want your vote."

"As a prosecutor, I never asked a victim or witness are you a Republican or a Democrat," Harris said during the debate exchange featured in the new ad. "The only thing I ever asked them: 'Are you OK?' And that’s the kind of president we need right now. Someone who cares about you, and is not putting themselves first."

The ad will run on digital platforms across battleground states and is part of the campaign's $370 million paid media campaign running through Election Day.

The ad is the fourth that the campaign has unveiled since Tuesday's debate between Harris and Trump. The campaign said Harris would seek to build off the debate with new ads, travel to battleground states and interviews with local media.

The vice president repeatedly attempted to get under Trump’s skin, often succeeding as the former president went on tangents about crowd size, Biden and a conspiracy theory about migrants abducting pets in an Ohio town.

Harris’s campaign almost immediately called for a second debate between the two candidates, but Trump has said he will not participate in another debate.

CNN rapid poll found 63 percent of debate watchers said Harris won Tuesday’s debate, compared to 37 percent who said Trump won. Multiple polls released Thursday showed Harris widening her lead over Trump nationally.

Trump cited multiple social media polls, including one posted by C-SPAN, that showed he fared better than Harris. And a Trump campaign poll found Trump got a 2-point bump from the debate, while Harris’s support in battleground states remained flat.

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