New Harris ad highlights ‘working class’ upbringing

The Harris campaign on Friday launched a new ad in battleground states highlighting the vice president’s upbringing in an effort to appeal to middle class voters.

The ad, titled “Knows,” notes that Harris grew up in a “working class home,” was the daughter of a working mom and worked at McDonald’s while she got her college degree. The ad, which was viewed first by The Hill, outlines how Harris would work to lower health care costs, create more affordable housing and reduce crime.

“Donald Trump has no plan to help the middle class. Just more tax cuts for billionaires,” the narrator states.

The ad is part of the Harris campaign’s $50 million on advertising in the weeks ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which is set to begin on Aug. 19. It will run on local and national broadcast stations, cable programs, streaming and social media platforms.

The 30-second spot will air during the Olympics, The Bachelorette, Big Brother and The Daily Show, among others programs.

“Being president is about who you fight for. Vice President Harris is the daughter of a working mother and worked at a McDonald’s to put herself through college. She knows what middle class families go through," Harris campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said in a statement. "Now, she’s running for president to make it easier for families to not just get by, but get ahead.

"As president, Harris’ top priority will be taking on corporate greed to lower costs," Hitt added. "Donald Trump, on the other hand, is running to give more handouts to his ultra-wealthy friends at the expense of working Americans. That’s the contrast voters are going to see between now and Election Day.”

Harris has aimed to draw a clear contrast between her vision for the country and former President Trump’s campaign. She has outlined how she would push for affordable health care and paid leave, lower cost of living and protect abortion access. She has repeatedly framed the election as a choice between moving forward and going backward.

Trump has hit Harris on issues like inflation and immigration and claimed that the stock market would crash if he does not win in November. And he has asserted that he will be able to lower costs for consumers in large part by investing in domestic oil drilling to lower energy costs.

A CNBC poll published Thursday found Trump leading Harris by 2 percentage points nationally, and it found twice as many Americans said they think they will be better off financially under Trump than under Harris.