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Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign began running this 60-second ad called “Safety and Security” on television stations in Georgia and North Carolina on Thursday and has spent about $75,000 to air it so far in markets affected by the recent hurricane, according to AdImpact. The biggest expenditures have been in Charlotte, Raleigh and Asheville, N.C.
Here’s a look at the ad, its accuracy and its major takeaway.
On the Screen
The ad toggles between two former Trump administration officials who are shown speaking directly to the camera: Kevin Carroll, who was a senior counselor to the Homeland Security secretary, and Olivia Troye, who was Vice President Mike Pence’s homeland security adviser. Ms. Troye is also shown looking on behind Donald Trump in the White House when he was president.
The ad briefly shows the infamous 2019 hurricane map held up by Mr. Trump that was altered with a black marker to show a path into Alabama, as Mr. Trump had falsely suggested was forecast.
Images of disasters flash by: homes damaged by a hurricane or destroyed by raging wildfires, a sky turned orange by smoke. Mr. Trump is seen, in a photo, staring directly at the camera, and in a video clip, tossing paper towels to storm victims in Puerto Rico as if he were shooting basketball free throws.
As the music becomes more upbeat, Ms. Harris is shown meeting with storm victims. Mr. Trump is seen alone on an airport tarmac and then shaking hands with guests applauding him in the White House. The book version of Project 2025 — a policy guide written by Trump allies — briefly fills the screen, then gives way to images of Mr. Trump as president, speaking angrily and glowering from the lectern of the White House briefing room.
It concludes with video of Ms. Harris handing out meals at a Red Cross station and consoling more disaster survivors, a glimpse of an American flag, and a last word from Ms. Troye.
The Script
Carroll
“I worked in the Trump administration.”
Troye
“Never in a million years did I ever think that I’d be working in the White House with a president that didn’t care about the American people.”
Carroll
“He would suggest not giving disaster relief to states that hadn’t voted for him.”
Troye
“I remember one time, after a wildfire in California, he wouldn’t send relief because it was a Democratic state. So we went as far as looking up how many votes he got in those impacted areas, to show him: These are people that voted for you. This isn’t normal. The job of the president is to protect Americans regardless of politics.”
Carroll
“If Trump’s elected again, there will be no one to stop his worst instincts. He’ll have yes-men to help him to implement Project 2025’s agenda. Unchecked power, no guardrails.”
Troye
“They will be serving one man. I am voting for Kamala Harris because she will put the safety and security of every American first, whether they voted for her or not.”
Accuracy
The only assertions made are the recollections of the two former Trump administration officials.
The Takeaway
The timing and placement of the ad are as important as what it says. Parts of Georgia and North Carolina are only now beginning to recover from Hurricane Helene, and much of the country just watched on television as Hurricane Milton blew across Florida.
The Harris campaign aims to warn voters that if Mr. Trump were president and another natural disaster struck, his response would be governed by politics.
It is a tricky path for the vice president: She wants to be seen as overseeing a competent Biden administration response to the hurricanes, even as she seeks to weaponize the storms against Mr. Trump. Her message appears to be that however bad things now may be, they would be worse under Mr. Trump.
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