WASHINGTON — Covid-19 kept candidate Joe Biden off the campaign trail last July Fourth. But this year, the White House and the Democratic National Committee are launching a campaign-style blitz as Americans get set to celebrate Independence Day, aiming to ensure the president sees a political boost for the nation’s return to pre-pandemic life.
The DNC is premiering a new television ad Tuesday that declares America is “coming back” after a year of lockdowns and economic hardship.
June 18, 202101:20
“This year, there’s more to celebrate. The freedom to hug a grandchild. To see a baseball game in person. To come back together again. America leading the world out of the global pandemic with honesty and compassion,” the 60-second spot declares. It’s set to John Legend’s “In America,” used with permission by the singer and songwriter.
The DNC says the spot will air in targeted states and on national cable. On the ground, the party will play off the president’s favorite dessert with an Ice Cream Truck tour along the East Coast starting Wednesday and ending on the National Mall in Washington on the Fourth. The truck will offer Jeni’s Ice Cream with the message: “Shots in arms, checks in banks, jobs coming back and scoops in hand.”
The DNC is also planning to fly planes over beaches in Wisconsin, Georgia, South Carolina and parts of Florida with a banner saying: “America’s back together thanks to Biden and Democrats.”
The burst of activity is a significant ramp up by the DNC to promote Biden’s agenda and comes at a critical time for the White House, which has aimed to carry momentum into the summer months while Biden walks a legislative tightrope in support of both a bipartisan infrastructure deal and a more robust, but likely Democrats-only, package of economic initiatives.
DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison told donors at a virtual fundraiser with Biden on Monday night that the party will “work overtime to tell the world about the success” of the administration. “We’re doing this all more aggressively than ever before. We’re also going to play a bigger role than ever before in midterm elections. We’re going to put our cash to work early,” he said.
The White House separately announced Monday that the Bidens, Vice President Kamala Harris and Cabinet officials will fan out across the country this weekend on what it calls the “America’s Back Together” tour. The president will travel to Traverse City, MIchigan, on Saturday before celebrating the Fourth on the South Lawn of the White House with front-line medical workers and U.S. service members.
It comes a week after the White House conceded it won’t hit the president’s stated goal of 70 percent of adults receiving at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by July Fourth.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
