US President Joe Biden (L) walks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) at St. Michael鈥檚 Golden-Domed Cathedral during an unannounced visit in Kyiv on February 20, 2023. With its war zone imagery and macho voiceover it could be a movie trailer 鈥� but the sunglasses-clad star of a new campaign ad is none other than 80-year-old US President Joe Biden. Facing a battle in the opinion polls, America鈥檚 oldest ever commander-in-chief is using his surprise trip to Kyiv in February to sell himself as a 鈥渢rue leader鈥� ahead of the 2024 election. (Photo by Evan Vucci / POOL / AFP)
WASHINGTON, United States 鈥� With its war zone imagery and macho voiceover it could be a movie trailer 鈥� but the sunglasses-clad star of a new campaign ad is none other than 80-year-old US President Joe Biden.
Facing a battle in the opinion polls, America鈥檚 oldest ever commander-in-chief is using his surprise trip to Kyiv in February to sell himself as a 鈥渢rue leader鈥� ahead of the 2024 election.
The 60-second spot 鈥� which debuted on social media on Thursday and will air on TV in US battleground states during prime time on Saturday 鈥� draws a stark contrast with his Republican rivals over the Ukraine war.
The message is simple: the Democrat鈥檚 support against Russia鈥檚 brutal 2022 invasion shows global leadership, while Republicans including Donald Trump have wobbled all over the place on the issue.
It was a political gamble for Biden to give Kyiv his full backing 聽鈥� and more than $43 billion in military aid 鈥� but he is now doubling down that it could help him at the ballot box.
鈥淚t was the first time in modern history that an American president went into a war zone not controlled by the United States,鈥� the ad starts, narrated by a gravelly voiced man.
Airing as Biden attends the G20 summit in India 鈥� which Russian President Vladimir Putin is skipping 鈥� the ad shows photos of Biden taking a train from Poland to Kyiv 鈥渦nder cover of night.鈥�
It then describes him walking 鈥渟houlder to shoulder with our allies in the war-torn streets, standing up for democracy in a place where a tyrant is waging war to take it away.鈥�
Cue a picture of Putin raising a glass of champagne. Then footage of soldiers firing cannons, followed by Biden in his trademark aviator sunglasses meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
鈥淚n the middle of a war zone, Joe Biden showed the world what America is made of. That鈥檚 the quiet strength of a true leader who doesn鈥檛 back down to a dictator,鈥� the ad concludes.
鈥楢merican leadership鈥�
Quietness is part of the problem for Biden, though.
Biden is struggling with tepid approval ratings and low visibility ahead of a possible rematch with airtime-hogging Trump next year.
And literally too. Reporters sometimes strain to hear the octogenarian 鈥� yet more fuel for concerns among Republican and Democrat voters alike that he鈥檚 too old for a second term.
But while foreign policy is rarely a key theme in US elections, the ad shows Team Biden sees his Ukraine stance as crucial for a counteroffensive against Republican contenders.
It鈥檚 also airing as the US Congress is to debate whether to keep funding Ukraine, with some Republicans threatening to block the latest tranche.
Biden-Harris campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement that Biden had 鈥渞estored true American leadership on the world stage.鈥�
鈥淲hile the MAGA (Make America Great Again) Republicans running for president have sided with dictators over democracy, President Biden rallied the West,鈥� she said.
Republican candidate Ron DeSantis stumbled earlier this year when he downplayed Russia鈥檚 invasion as a 鈥渢erritorial dispute鈥�. Upstart rival Vivek Ramaswamy has called on Ukraine to make 鈥渕ajor concessions鈥� to Moscow.
Then there is Trump. The 77-year-old former president has claimed he could end the war in 24 hours and declined to say who he wants to win, while his frequent statements of praise and admiration for Putin have long raised eyebrows.
Many Republican voters appear increasingly Ukraine-skeptic, swayed by messaging in the right wing of the party and conservative media that US funds should go to fighting illegal immigration, not helping Ukraine.
Unproven allegations about the business dealings of Biden鈥檚 son Hunter in Ukraine have also fed into growing lack of support on the right for the pro-Western government in Kyiv.
With some polls showing him now neck-and-neck with Trump, Biden has clearly decided it is time for the big guns.
鈥淚鈥檓 Joe Biden and I approve this message,鈥� he says at the end of the ad.