Biden campaign prepares counterpunches for GOP debate where he’ll be top target

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is unleashing a TV ad and surrogate blitz to coincide with the first Republican presidential debate, with plans to blast “MAGA Republicans’ extreme and out of touch views” whether Donald Trump is on the stage or not.

The campaign did not say where commercials would run, how much it is spending or reveal the content but said the ads, which will make it up its third major buy of the cycle, would target Black and Hispanic voters in particular.

Biden's campaign and the Democratic National Committee also plan to send the president's allies out in full force ahead of the Wednesday, Aug. 23 debate, which the Republican frontrunner Trump has not committed to attend.

Regardless of Trump's participation, attacks on Biden are certain to factor prominently in the debate, as Republicans have slammed the president's policies on immigration and the economy. DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison and Cedric Richmond, a campaign co-chairman,will hold a news conference in Milwaukee, while the DNC and Biden campaign operate a war room in Washington.

Democrats hope the debate, held in battleground Wisconsin, will juice their fundraising and organizing efforts.

The Biden campaign is also using the first Republican primary in Milwaukee to pivot to a more aggressive approach to paint the Republican opposition as beholden to “extreme” views.

Republicans' debate marks a new "phase" in the presidential campaign that will be met with greater "intensity" by the Democratic Party and the Biden campaign, Harrison told USA TODAY.

"Now that the lights and stage are brighter," he said, "we want to make sure that we are also performing on that stage and highlighting the real divides between between the two parties and the two visions."

Biden’s reelection campaign has not held a single event and does not plan to have its candidate on the trail until after Labor Day. Instead, it has focusing on amassing cash for the general election while Biden promotes his economic agenda at official events.

Biden made an official presidential visit to Milwaukee on Tuesday to promote the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, his historic climate and clean energy law, as the White House struggles to get credit for improving economic metrics.

Trump hasn't said whether he will take part in the debate and indicated he intends to disclose his plans this week.

Trump has not committed to sign on to the Republican National Committee's loyalty to pledge support the eventual Republican nominee if it is not him - a requirement for entry into the debate. The former president has also pointed to his large lead in Republican primary polls and questioned why he should take part.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden campaign prepares to pounce on Republican primary debate