President Biden’s reelection campaign launched an ad to knock former President Trump about the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol ahead of Trump’s visit to Capitol Hill on Thursday.
The 30-second ad, titled “Burn,” highlights the events of Jan. 6 and Trump’s vow to free the imprisoned Jan. 6 rioters if he’s elected to another term.
The ad will run on TV in battleground states during local news broadcasts “in an effort to remind voters about Trump’s unforgivable actions on January 6, and his promise to go further if reelected,” according to the campaign.
“On Jan. 6, Donald Trump lit a fire in this country,” the ad reads, noting that 140 officers were injured during the riots.
“Stoking the flames of division and hate, now he’s pouring gasoline … pledging to pardon the extremists who tried to overthrow our government, inciting them to try again,” it continues.
The ad was dropped hours before Trump is set to head to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers in an effort to strike a unified tone before the Republican National Convention. Trump is set to meet with Senate Republicans, House Republicans, and the Business Roundtable while in Washington on Thursday.
“Today, the instigator of an insurrection is returning to the scene of the crime. January 6th was a crime against the Capitol, that saw Nazi and Confederate flags flying under the dome that Lincoln built,” said former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), chair of the campaign’s national advisory board.
“It was a crime against the Constitution and its peaceful transfer of power, in a desperate attempt to cling to power. And it was a crime against Members, heroic police officers and staff, that resulted in death, injury and trauma that endure to this day,” she added.
The Trump campaign hit back on the ad, arguing Biden has a “failing presidency.”
“The only thing burning in America is Joe Biden’s failing Presidency. From record-high inflation, to the wide open border and war around the world, Joe Biden’s weakness and failed policies have hurt Americans financially, made our country less safe, and the world more unstable,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s national press secretary, said in a statement.
Updated at 9:33 a.m. ET