TV Ad We Need: We Won't Survive A Second Trump Term
September 28, 2024
When Joe Biden was still in the race and seemed to be on the verge of losing Democracy to the serially bankrupt convicted felon who has the power and resources of Project 2025 behind him, I created a number of political ads in my head that I wanted to see to convey just how dangerous and dystopian it would be if Trump were able to snatch a second term. I wanted to see dramatizations of women with non-viable pregnancies screaming in agony in hospitals that were legally unable to help them…dangerous psychopaths stalking school playgrounds and amusement parks with AR-15s,…de-regulated planes falling from the sky….families cowering in homes being lashed by hurricanes that were underreported and downplayed…and several others. While these dangers are still very real, the new candidacy of the Harris/Walz team has generated such enthusiasm and positivity (and yes, joy), that my previous demand for doom-and-gloom messaging doesn’t seem to apply.
But, there is still ONE ad I’d like to see to help convince some voters who may still be on the fence. If someone could create this ad (or something like it) and get it to swing-type voters, I think it would help. So here it is:
VOICEOVER: Yes, it’s true that the United States survived Trump’s first term
IMAGE: Ugly closeup of the orange menace (So many to choose from)
VOICEOVER: Well, not everyone survived, but Democracy remained intact
IMAGE: Mass Covid graves/headlines showing death count
VOICEOVER: But back then, there were still adults in the room
IMAGE: Photos of John Kelly, Mark Milley, Mike Pence
VOICEOVER: People who would tell Trump, No Donald, people SHOULDN’T inject disinfectant to cure Covid
IMAGE/VIDEO: Dr. Birx shaking her head in disbelief when Trump made the suggestion
VOICEOVER: No, Donald, you CAN’T just nuke a hurricane
IMAGE: Trump next to the hurricane map that he had marked up with a Sharpie
VOICEOVER: But now, all the adults have left the room, leaving Donald to his own devices
VIDEO: Trump flailing his arms mocking the disabled reporter
VOICEOVER: In fact, 40 out of 44 of Trump’s past cabinet members refuse to endorse him.
IMAGE: Headline stating that 40 out of 44 of cabinet members refuse to endorse him
VOICEOVER: These aren’t liberals—these are lifelong conservatives who have been faithful public servants in the government, in the military, in the judicial system. These are the people who worked with him the most closely.
IMAGES: Headlines of past people in Trump’s administration speaking out against him. (Samples: Of 44 Members of Trump's Cabinet, Just 4 Endorsed Him for 2024: NBC - Business Insider Dozens served in Trump’s Cabinet. Four say he should be re-elected. (nbcnews.com) Dozens served in Trump’s Cabinet. Four say he should be re-elected. (nbcnews.com) )
VOICEOVER: These people who knew him best describe him as “an idiot” who should never be near government
IMAGES: Headlines/Quotes from John Kelly, etc. (Samples: ‘God help us’: John Kelly issues scathing statement on Trump | CNN Politics Mark Milley, in apparent Trump rebuke, calls him 'wannabe dictator' (usatoday.com) ‘Idiot,’ ‘Dope,’ ‘Moron’: How Trump’s aides have insulted the boss - POLITICO )
VOICEOVER: You wouldn’t hire a guy to walk your dog if his references were THIS bad.
IMAGE: Trump with Kristi Noem
VOICEOVER: Even members of his own family are trying to distance themselves from him now.
IMAGE: Video clip of Melania turning her head away and sneering at him.
VOICEOVER: So who is left to stop Donald from his own worst instincts, now that he surrounds himself with a pack of yes-men weirdos?
IMAGES: Rudy with hair dye dripping down his face, Stephen Miller when he had his hair painted on, the My Pillow Guy, Roger Stone in his most dastardly batman villain costume
VOICEOVER: (Sarcastically) We know Donald is SUCH a good judge of character
IMAGES/VIDEOS: Trump with Epstein, Trump beaming at Putin
VOICEOVER: Unfortunately for Democracy, it’s not just incompetent weirdos who have latched onto Trump. The Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 are deadly serious. They’ve developed a 900-page manual for Trump to use to accomplish all of the Democracy-killing initiatives Trump was unable to accomplish during his first term.
IMAGES: Cover of Project 2025, some headlines showing what it will do.
VOICEOVER: Yes, Trump is now trying to deny involvement in Project 2025, but it was written by people in his administration specifically to give him the tools to become the dictator he’s always wanted to be.
VIDEO: Trump saying he’ll be a dictator on Day 1.
VOICEOVER: Democracy was lucky to have survived Trump’s first term in office, despite his best efforts to destroy it.
VIDEO: Images of the violence on January 6.
VOICEOVER: We won’t be that lucky a second time. Project 2025 will make sure of that.
IMAGE: Trump at the Heritage Foundation/on plane with the head of the Heritage Foundation/Project 2025
VOICEOVER: This November, vote as if Democracy is on the line. Because it is. Vote for Harris/Walz.
IMAGE: Painting of the Founding Fathers signing the Declaration of Independence. Fade to the current U.S. flag.
This might be slightly longer than the typical political ad, but that could set it apart. (And it’s not like we don’t sit through long-form commercials—I feel like the Andersen Windows and the “crepe erase” ads advising me to get rid of my “crepey” skin go on forever.) I think it’s important to make sure people are aware that just because we survived the first presidency, that doesn’t mean our country can survive another.
One other point I’d like to see ads hit home is on economic policy. I haven’t sketched out an entire ad, but something should remind people that we WEREN’T better four years ago—people were dying and we were fighting over toilet paper and we had container ships stuck out in the Pacific. Even before Covid, Trump’s economy was losing jobs. Biden brought us back to the highest stock market in history and the lowest unemployment rate in decades. And, yes, grocery prices are shockingly bad. But out of the two candidates, Harris is the only one with a plan to stop price gouging and make life easier. In contrast, Trump’s plan imposes a tariff on imported goods, which means that we’ll pay MORE money ON TOP OF already inflated prices. And his plan to round up millions of immigrants and throw them into concentration camps will deplete our workforce, driving supply down and costs further up. And if the Heritage Foundation/Project 2025 has its way (which it will, despite Trump’s laughingly ridiculous claims that he knows nothing about it), then their “simplified” tax structure adds thousands of dollars of taxes to those of us making less than $150,000 per year.
Election day is less than two months away, and even though the airwaves are saturated with ads, I think it might help to drive home these points.
