President Joe Biden's reelection campaign is planning to leverage the GOP primary debate next week by running an "aggressive" media blitz that will contrast the president's message with that of "MAGA Republicans."
According to a campaign official who spoke with The Hill on Thursday, the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will run a "new, aggressive paid media campaign," which will be its third major paid media buy of the cycle.
The first Republican National Committee-sanctioned debate is set for 9 p.m. on Wednesday in Milwaukee and will be hosted by Fox News. It is unknown if GOP front-runner former President Donald Trump will attend.
"We know Americans are mobilized against the MAGA agenda, and this serves as a perfect opportunity to energize and activate the Biden-Harris coalition well ahead of the general election," the official said.
Biden campaign co-Chair Cedric Richmond and DNC Chair Jaime Harrison will host a press conference that will serve as a rebuttal to the debate and there will be Biden campaign officials on the ground in Milwaukee to meet with local leaders and core constituencies, the official said.
The DNC will also launch a billboard campaign throughout Milwaukee, including three stationary billboards and one that will circle the debate venue mounted on a truck.
In Washington, D.C., the Biden campaign will jointly run "an aggressive war room" with the DNC to "hold Republican candidates accountable for the extreme MAGA views [they] espouse from the debate stage."
According to The Hill, Harrison will hold Black voter engagement events in Milwaukee ahead of the debate, including an event focused on engaging with Black men. Other stops in Wisconsin reportedly include an event with women voters in Waukesha and a youth engagement event in Madison.
"Next week's Republican debate will put on display just how extreme and out of touch the Republican candidates are with the American people," Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement. "That's why we're using the debate as an opportunity to activate and energize our supporters, as well as expand support for the Biden-Harris ticket and our agenda for the middle class and protecting Americans' freedoms."
Trump is reportedly considering holding his own counterprogramming on the night of the debate, CNN reported.
The Republicans who have qualified for the first RNC debate by meeting polling and donor thresholds include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
In a statement Thursday, Harrison called the GOP candidates participating in the debate "the most extreme slate of presidential candidates in history" and said they will be looking "to out-MAGA each other."
"The debate will showcase for the American people that the MAGA GOP candidates don't share their priorities and would roll back the progress we've made," the official said.
Nicole Wells ✉
Nicole Wells, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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