If you check out the homepage of FoxNews.com any time before 11:59pm on Wednesday night, you'll notice one of President Joe Biden's Dark Brandon as he runs for reelection, or so we're told that's what his plans are for 2024, though many have their doubts.
"GET REAL, JACK," one side of the ad reads. "I'M BRINGING ROE BACK," the other side reads, in reference to the president's obsession with what he claims will codify the Roe v. Wade decision overturned in June of last year by the U.S. Supreme Court with their Dobbs v. Jackson decision. The legislation in question, however, the Women's Health Protection Act (WHPA), would actually go further, in that it would invalidate pro-life laws at the state level and allow for unlimited abortion up until birth for any reason without legal limit throughout the country.
It's just one of many ads appearing the same time that the first RNC primary debate takes place on Monday in Milwaukee. As PEOPLE, which received an exclusive, reported:
For Biden's 2024 reelection team, the unexpected ad campaign — not only reclaiming an antagonistic character, but doing so on a conservative news site — was a no-brainer.
Rob Flaherty, deputy campaign manager for Biden's 2024 campaign and former director of digital strategy in Biden's White House, tells PEOPLE that Fox News' website is prime real estate for a campaign ad since the network is hosting Wednesday's debate. And, perhaps more importantly, "it's a surprising place for the president to show up."
"I think it fits both the president's ethos of going everywhere and not writing off any voters," Flaherty says. "It also speaks to the sort of strided, swaggy Dark Brandon personality of, 'Yeah, we're going to go on Fox News and talk about protecting and restoring Roe.'"
The new Dark Brandon campaign doesn't only touch on abortion rights, though that's the one that was selected to appear on Fox News. Three other versions of the ad will pop up on billboards in Milwaukee Wednesday, each hitting on an issue that Americans overwhelmingly support, but the Republican Party opposes.
One ad reads, "Get on board, folks. We're lowering prescription drug costs." Another reads, "Social Security cuts? Try me." And the final reads, "Tax cuts for yacht owners? Good luck with that, champ."
"These are places where we see an effective contrast between ... the president and the entirety of the Republican field," Flaherty says of the issues featured in the ads.
It's worth reminding that PEOPLE also received an exclusive when the president and first lady finally acknowledged their seventh grandchild--the 4-year-old daughter of Hunter Biden--last month as part of a Friday night news dump.
When it comes to PEOPLE's comments about what "Americans overwhelmingly supports," it's worth reminding how much the Democratic Party has misled and lied on abortion, by making the Republican Party out to be the extremists. When political parties are taken out of the question, however, Americans don't agree with the Democratic Party's view on unlimited abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. Just 37 percent of Americans believe that abortion should be legal in the second trimester, and just 22 percent believe that it should be legal in the third trimester, according to Gallup.
Further, the oft-repeated claim from Biden and the Democrats that Republicans want to cut Social Security has been debunked at length by fact-checkers.
The ad about supposedly "restoring Roe" comes while the country is facing a host of troubles, especially for the people of Maui who experienced devastating wildfires, made all the more worse by the failure of proper and timely responses to put out the fires. After telling the press he had " no comment" on the matter, Biden finally visited Maui on Monday, nearly two weeks later.
Joe Biden has "no comment" on the hardship and devastation these Americans have seen firsthand.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 14, 2023
His smirk while on vacation says it all. pic.twitter.com/oCdHoeZTTe
During his remarks, he still managed to make the tragedy about himself and his family, as he told a wildly exaggerated story claiming he almost lost his home in what was, in reality, a small house fire contained to the kitchen that was contained in 20 minutes.
Biden had also released another Dark Brandon ad earlier this month over Twitter, while he was on vacation yet again, just as he's been for much of this month, including during the wildfires. That ad was also released hours before former and potentially future President Donald Trump was arraigned for the third indictment against him, this time to do with his role in the events on and leading up to January 6.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member