Washington:

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris launched a $50 million advertising blitz on Tuesday, capitalizing on the momentum of a fledgling campaign against Republican rival Donald Trump with a one-minute spot titled “Fearless.”

It was Harris’ first big ad buy since consolidating support for the Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on July 21 and endorsed her.

In addition to garnering the backing of big-money donors, Harris has sparked newfound energy among groups such as young voters that Biden had been struggling to win over.

Public opinion polls in the last week have shown Harris, 59, closing the gap with 78-year-old Trump, who still leads in some national surveys.

The ads will be rolled out on television as well as streaming and social channels across election battleground states in the weeks before the Democratic National Convention that starts on Aug. 19.

The first ad in the campaign begins with images of Harris as a little girl and follows her progression to a prosecutor, attorney general and U.S. vice president. “The one thing Kamala Harris has always been: fearless,” the ad says.

Since stepping into her new role, Harris has focused on Trump’s felony convictions in a hush-money trial involving a porn star and the other criminal charges he faces, and portrayed him as responsible for a wave of anti-abortion measures in Republican-led states around the country.

The Harris campaign’s ad buy dwarfed the $10 million advertising buy announced by Trump’s campaign on Monday, to be launched in six battleground states this week as it tries to counter a surge of voter enthusiasm and donations for Harris.

That was Trump’s biggest ad buy since January.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Joe Biden, America’s oldest president, received support from an unexpected ally over his age: Donald Trump said the Democrat was “not too old” to seek a second term, while quickly adding: “I think he’s incompetent.”

The former president’s comments, made in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” to be aired Sunday, come as America faces a profound debate over the ageing of its political class, a major factor ahead of the 2024 elections — when Joe Biden will be just shy of 82 and Trump himself 78.

Polls show that while the age gap between the two men is small, Americans worry more about President Biden’s age, with one survey finding that three in four people doubt his ability to last a second term.

That Trump ended his own term in office as the second-oldest president ever (Ronald Reagan was 77 at the end of his term) presents the real estate magnate with a challenge, however, in repeatedly portraying Biden as too “sleepy” to do the job.

But that hasn’t stopped the Republican, who would be 82 at the end of a second term, from trying to thread that needle.

“Some of the greatest world leaders have been in their 80s,” he told NBC. “I’m not anywhere very near 80, by the way.

“And Biden’s not too old,” Donald Trump added. “But I think he’s incompetent, and that’s a bigger problem.”

Joe Biden, who overcame a stuttering problem as a youth, has often been mocked for his verbal stumbles.

But he remains trim, physically active, does not drink and is often seen riding his bicycle during weekends at his Delaware home.

Democrats say he also fares well on the competency front, having overseen the passage of major legislation, including a massive infrastructure bill, the largest gun-safety bill in decades, and the Build Back Better social spending program.

President Biden has also been active on the global stage. Indeed, during his just-ended trip to Vietnam — which analysts say was staged partly to highlight his vigour — that country’s 79-year-old Communist leader smilingly complimented Biden on his relative youth.

Donald Trump, for his part, has gotten mostly positive marks during annual physicals — though he has been classed as overweight and does no exercise other than golf. Like Joe Biden, he does not drink.

Trump, too, has had his share of bizarre verbal moments, mangled pronunciations and physical stumbles.

But in the NBC interview he said his own age does not concern him, noting that his parents had long lives.

“So genetically, that’s a good thing.”

His insistence on his own competency was ridiculed during the 2020 presidential campaign when Trump said he had scored an “amazing” result on what he said was a test of mental acuity.

He said he had had to remember, in order, these words: “Person, woman, man, camera, TV.”

His proud and repeated recitation of those five words was ridiculed by political rivals and went viral on social media.

Still, in an apparent reference to that test made in the NBC interview, Trump said, “I aced it. I got everything right.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)