The super PAC supporting Donald J. Trump for president is airing a blistering television ad before the State of the Union address, mocking President Biden’s halting response to questions about his memory and even questioning his life span, in a preview of the tenor of the general election ahead.
The ad, titled “Jugular,” aired on MSNBC on Thursday morning during one of Mr. Biden’s favorite shows, “Morning Joe” in the 6 a.m. hour. It will air nationally through the day and Friday morning on MSNBC, CNN, Fox News and Newsmax, according to the super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc. The size of the two-day ad buy was not immediately clear.
The spot appeared designed to try to get under Mr. Biden’s skin at a pivotal moment, as he prepares to give the State of the Union and faces low job approval ratings against his predecessor, Mr. Trump. The ad focuses on a topic that Mr. Biden and his allies have shown frustration about — questions over his age.
At the age of 81, Mr. Biden is America’s oldest president. Mr. Trump is 77.
Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for Mr. Biden’s campaign, called the ad a “sick and deranged stunt from a broke and struggling campaign that can’t defend Trump’s extreme Project 2025 agenda to ban abortion, separate families, raise costs on the middle class, repeal health care, and sow chaos and division.”
He added that Mr. Trump tried the same strategy four years ago and was beaten by Mr. Biden. Mr. Trump, he said, “should tune in tonight alongside tens of millions of Americans to see why President Biden will beat him again this November.”
A report by the special counsel, Robert Hur, who was investigating Mr. Biden’s possession of classified documents at his home after he served as vice president, infuriated the president’s allies with what they called gratuitous descriptions of his difficulty recalling certain events and details. Among them, according to Mr. Hur, was when Mr. Biden’s eldest son, Beau, passed away, a statement Mr. Biden’s allies pushed back on.
