By Arlette Saenz and Betsy Klein | CNN
Fresh off a record-breaking fundraiser, the Biden campaign released a digital ad Friday making a forceful appeal to voters who supported former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley – a coalition of Republicans and moderates turned off by Donald Trump that the Biden team is seeking to attract as the general election gets underway.
The ad features clips of the former president calling Haley a “birdbrain,” ”a very angry person” and “not presidential timber.” Another clip depicts Trump being asked how to bring Haley voters into his coalition, to which he replies, “I’m not sure we need too many.”
“If you voted for Nikki Haley,” text in the ad says, “Donald Trump doesn’t want your vote.”
“Save America. Join us,” the ad’s on-screen text concludes.
The digital ad buy will target battleground states – specifically suburban areas favorable to Haley, who suspended her campaign earlier this month.
“Using the recent Republican primary results to determine the ad’s placement, this seven-figure, video-centric ad flight will run for three weeks in eight key battleground states, targeting Nikki Haley voters in predominantly suburban ZIP codes where she performed well against Trump,” the Biden campaign said in a release, adding that it will run on digital platforms, including Meta, YouTube, connected TV and online video.
The move comes as the Biden campaign has made overtures to Haley supporters and donors since she dropped out of the race. Campaign co-chair Jeffrey Katzenberg and finance chair Rufus Gifford have held discussions with some in Haley’s donor network, sources familiar with the efforts told CNN.
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There have also been discussions about possibly holding a fundraiser for former Haley supporters in the future, a campaign official said.
Moments after Haley suspended her campaign, President Joe Biden issued a statement saying “there is a place” for Haley supporters in his campaign.
“It takes a lot of courage to run for President – that’s especially true in today’s Republican Party, where so few dare to speak the truth about Donald Trump. Nikki Haley was willing to speak the truth about Trump: about the chaos that always follows him, about his inability to see right from wrong, about his cowering before Vladimir Putin,” Biden said in the statement.
The Biden campaign is looking to highlight areas of common ground with Haley, including issues of democracy, the preservation of NATO and the rule of law.
