With the Democratic Party coalescing around Vice President Kamala Harris as its new nominee, both Harris’s and former President Donald Trump’s campaigns are kicking into high gear. This week, both campaigns released their first ads since President Joe Biden retired his reelection bid.

‘What Kind of Country Do We Want to Live in?’

The first official ad from the Harris for President campaign asks American voters the question, “What kind of country do we want to live in?” Predictably and in keeping with the Democratic Party’s brand over the past four to eight years, the ad plays slightly distorted, oversaturated video clips of Trump speaking, along with an image of his running mate Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), while Harris narrates, “There are some people who think we should be a country of chaos, of fear, of hate.”

Such rhetoric is nothing new for Democrats: for years, Trump has been smeared as a fascist, a dictator, and even Adolf Hitler. Of course, Trump was democratically elected, he operated the White House within the bounds of the law, he worked with elected representatives in Congress to get things done, he respected the decisions of the Supreme Court, and (most damaging to the “Hitler” claims) he did not form secret military police forces, invade neighboring countries, start a global war, or commit genocide. The rhetoric used by Democrats is not meant to be logical but emotional, with an apparent purpose to dehumanize Trump and his supporters.

Harris’s ad clearly recognizes this and, true to Democratic Party form, creates a divisive dichotomy. Immediately after labeling Trump and Vance as men “of chaos, of fear, of hate,” Harris continues, “But us? We choose something different.” Before continuing her narration, there is a pause. Harris stands on a stage, grinning behind a podium, while a crowd of mostly-female voices chants, “Kam-a-la! Kam-a-la! Kam-a-la!” The narration returns and Harris announces, “We choose freedom.”

What kind of freedom? “The freedom not just to get by, but to get ahead, the freedom to be safe from gun violence, the freedom to make decisions about your own body,” Harris answers. “We choose a future where no child lives in poverty, where we can all afford healthcare, where no one is above the law. We believe in the promise of America, and we’re ready to fight for it.”

As these words are spoken, the video shows a montage of what look at first to be Harris supporters, rallygoers waving signs or waving their hands at campaign events the way a Pentecostal might during a particularly fiery sermon. However, video clips are also shown of random folks (only one white man features in this segment) sitting around kitchen tables or sitting rooms. A slow-motion shot depicts an elderly couple laughing sitting by a window.

These images seem, for only a second, confusing. The stock-footage-style imagery seems better suited to a commercial for the latest antidepressant drugs than a political campaign ad. But the confusion only lasts a moment. The next shot makes things clear: a crowd waving Pride and “progress flags.” Harris herself is seen hugging some of the LGBT activists. Women are seen speaking and cheering at “reproductive freedom” events, attended by Harris herself.

When the words “no one is above the law” are spoken, the now-infamous mug shot of Trump appears onscreen, distorted and oversaturated, as in previous images of the former president.

Through her ad, Harris and her campaign team visually answer the question posed by the vice president at the beginning of the video, “What kind of country do we want to live in?” The America envisioned by Harris is populated by LGBT activists and very few white men. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the only instance in which a family is depicted is when Harris is warning against “gun violence.” Other than that, Harris’s America features plenty of single women cheering for abortion, a handful of older gay men proudly presiding over the next generation of LGBT acolytes, and hordes of progressives waving Kamala signs.

‘Weak. Failed. Dangerously Liberal.’

Trump’s campaign apparently knows that, as America becomes increasingly polarized and increasingly decadent, voters are already asking themselves what kind of country they want to live in. The latest Trump ad does not seek to ask, much less answer this question, knowing that voters have already answered it for themselves, but instead aims to demonstrate that Harris and her record will not yield the America that voters crave.

Immigration has consistently ranked among the top concerns for voters heading into November, bested only by inflation and the economy. Trump’s presidential record on both subjects is strong, but his campaign ad zeroes in on Harris’s demonstrable failures on immigration.

The Trump campaign’s ad begins with a video clip from a 2021 NBC News segment, wherein anchor Lester Holt asked Harris, months after she was named Biden’s “border czar,” whether or not she plans to visit the border. “We’ve been to the border,” Harris insisted. Holt pushed back, “You haven’t been to the border.” Harris responded with her trademark cackle and said, “And I haven’t been to Europe. I don’t understand the point that you’re making.”

Then follow a series of clips of news pundits and political commentators lambasting Harris for her “tone-deaf” response to the then-burgeoning crisis at the southern border, interspersed with footage of Harris answering variations of the question, “Will you even visit the border?” In every instance, Harris’s response is some variation of, “No.” In the final third of the ad, news clip after news clip is played of reports on illegal immigrants killing, raping, and attacking American citizens. The ad closes with the words “Kamala Harris: Weak. Failed. Dangerously Liberal.”

Unlike Harris’s inaugural campaign ad, the Trump campaign’s ad is comprised entirely of news reports, lending the nearly-two-minute video an almost documentary-like quality.

So What?

Both Harris’s and Trump’s newest ads are attempting, ostensibly, to do the same thing: motivate people to vote for them. Both ads attack the other candidate, both ads put forth (either explicitly or implicitly) a case for the candidate sponsoring the ad.

Registered Democrats were, understandably, deeply demoralized by Joe Biden’s candidacy. The president had fallen to almost-unparallelled levels of unpopularity and, particularly following the presidential debate late last month, was haunted by concerns over his age, cognitive decline, frailty, and health. Harris thus has some work to do to re-energize the voter base she will undoubtedly be relying upon. One of the chief purposes of political ads is to inspire and secure new voters. Trump is unlikely, after all, to produce ads targeting those who’ve already bought MAGA hats and Trump mugshot t-shirts. Harris’s campaign ad does not seem aimed at new voters, but rather at securing her own base: LGBT activists, pro-abortion activists, single women, ethnic minorities, those who have long been standard blue voting blocs.

Outside of progressives and self-described “moderates” who were already likely to vote for Harris anyway, solely on the basis that she’s not Trump, the content of Harris’s new ad is unlikely to find appeal.

Trump’s ad, on the other hand, focuses on an issue that impacts all Americans, regardless of ethnicity, class, age, sex, or party affiliation. The latest Rasmussen Reports survey demonstrates that this sort of approach may in fact be motivating those who weren’t planning to vote for Trump initially: a majority (53%) of Independent voters prefer Trump over Harris, who only has 33% support among that demographic. Immigration impacts all Americans, and Trump’s campaign recognizes that.

Thus, he strikes his opponent not only on a topic that’s broadly relatable and of great concern to voters, but one on which Harris has a proven record. Despite his reputation among Democrats for being “mean,” Trump’s ad does not attack Harris personally, nor does the ad attack her in the former president’s own words. Instead, viewers are treated to a litany of documented, widely-reported instances of Harris’s failure to secure the border, her seeming indifference to her assigned task, and the horrific results. The only attack Harris can manage against Trump, meanwhile, is “chaos, fear, hate,” all emotional, all subjective, none of it based in fact.

Although conservatives often mock Harris’s political prowess, or lack thereof — her incessant cackle, her airhead answers to questions, her scrabble-game sentences — the race for the White House will still be a close one. America is currently facing numerous crises and the candidate who can offer the best and clearest solution to these crises will likely win over the Independents and undecideds necessary to secure victory.