Trump campaign plans Hunter Biden ad push

President Trump’s reelection campaign will hit Hunter Biden in a new ad Thursday, the same day his father, former Vice President Joe Biden, will speak at the Democratic National Convention to accept the party’s presidential nomination.

The Trump campaign will roll out a nearly two-minute digital advertisement early Thursday morning underscoring Hunter Biden’s business dealings in China and resurfacing allegations he profited off Joe Biden’s perch as vice president. 

The video overlays remarks from news anchors discussing questions over Hunter Biden’s business dealings along with denials from both Bidens that they ever discussed the work in China. It also includes video of Hunter Biden being questioned in an interview over a trip he took to China for negotiations to establish a joint investment fund with a Chinese bank.

“No, of course not,” Hunter Biden responds in a video featured in the ad when asked if he and his father talked about his work. 

The ad also highlights past comments Joe Biden has made about China, including that he wants to “see China rise.” 

The latest spot is part of a high seven-figure digital advertising buy intended to coincide with the Democratic Party’s convention and will run on YouTube. The details of the ad were first reported by Politico and confirmed to The Hill by a campaign official. 

Hunter Biden has faced months-long scrutiny from Trump and his Republican allies over his dealings in China and work in Ukraine, though he has denied any wrongdoing and maintained he never leveraged his father’s position for personal gain. 

Still, the president has worked to highlight questions around Hunter Biden’s business, calling for China to investigate the younger Biden and pressuring the Ukrainian government to open up a probe of its own in a push to cast the Bidens as corrupt. Trump’s requests for Kyiv to open a probe ultimately led to his impeachment.

The ad attacking the Bidens comes as the Trump campaign and outside GOP groups work to boost their advertising efforts to divert attention away from the Democratic convention and blunt any subsequent polling boost to Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), his running mate.

Beginning midnight Tuesday, the Trump campaign purchased 96 hours straight of advertising on YouTube, and Club for Growth, a conservative anti-tax group, is launching a $5 million ad blitz Thursday to air nationally and in Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.