Biden in new ad defends ObamaCare against 2020 rivals, says it’s ‘personal to me’
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Former Vice President Joe Biden emphasized that “health care is personal to me, ObamaCare is personal to me,” in a new TV commercial that’s hitting airwaves in Iowa, the state that votes first in the race for the White House.
Released Tuesday, the ad -- the second of Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign -- highlights his ties to the Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare, which was the crowning domestic achievement of the Obama administration during Biden’s eight years as vice president under President Barack Obama.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
In the 60-second spot, Biden takes aim at President Trump for trying to repeal the sweeping health care law that was passed in 2010 – as well as at some of his top rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination for their plans to replace ObamaCare with a government-run "Medicare-for-all" single-payer system.
"When I see the president try to tear down, and others propose to replace it and start over, that's personal to me, too. We've got to build on what we did because every American deserves affordable health care,” Biden stresses in the commercial.
Health care has been a top issue with Democratic primary voters and “Medicare-for-all” has been very popular with the progressive base of the party. Public opinion polling has indicated that a majority of Americans would support such a plan if it allowed them to choose between a government-run public plan and certified private options.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
BIDEN PLUNGES, TIED WITH SANDERS AND WARREN IN NEW 2020 DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY POLL
Biden is the only one of the top-tier contenders for the Democratic nomination who opposes "Medicare-for-all." Instead, he proposes enhancing ObamaCare with a public option that would allow people to obtain their health insurance by buying into a Medicare-type plan through the Affordable Care Act.
The ad includes photos of Biden and Obama together – re-emphasizing the former vice president’s ties to Obama, who remains very popular among Democratic primary voters.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
“We’ve got to build on what we did, because every American deserves affordable health care,” Biden says in the spot.
Biden kicks off the ad by talking about the car crash that claimed the lives of his first wife and daughter – and years later, the death of his son Beau by cancer – to emphasize how health care has been extremely crucial to his family.
The Biden campaign says the ad is part of a high-six-figures buy to run TV commercials in the Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Quad Cities, and Sioux City TV markets. They add it’s part of a broader broadcast and digital media campaign in the coming weeks.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Biden’s not the first top-tier candidate to go up on the airwaves with TV commercials. Sen. Kamala Harris of California aired ads in Iowa earlier this month.
Billionaire environmental and progressive activist Tom Steyer – who declared his candidacy in early July – spent seven figures to run commercials in Iowa and New Hampshire as well as on national cable TV at the end of last month.