In this screengrab from a new television ad from Action for a Progressive Future, a young man winces as he hears a clip of a 2018 interview in which Joe Biden says he has "no empathy" for younger people.
WATCH: Progressive Group's New TV Ad Targeting Joe Biden Shows Young Voters Trashing His 'No Empathy' Comment
"Does he know what it's like to carry $40,000 in college debt and have a minimum wage job?"
"It's garbage."
That's one young voter's assessment of Joe Biden's comment last year that he has "no empathy" for young people. The comment is the focus of a new television ad targeting the former vice president and Democratic presidential hopeful. It's set to begin airing Monday evening on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."
"We launched this ad to convey a simple message," said Action for a Progressive Future co-founder Jeff Cohen in a statement, "that Democrats would have a hard time defeating Trump with a candidate who belittles young voters and their very real struggles."
Watch the ad, which features younger voters in Durham, New Hampshire, below:
In a 2018 interview with The Los Angeles Times Biden said, "The younger generation now tells me how tough things are. Give me a break. No, no, I have no empathy for it. Give me a break. Because here's the deal guys, we decided we were gonna change the world. And we did."
The comment does not sit well with the young voters featured in the new video.
"Does he know what it's like to carry $40,000 in college debt and have a minimum wage job?" asks one woman.
"If we want to beat Trump in 2020," adds another woman, "we need a candidate who actually speaks to young people instead of insulting them."
The new ad also directs viewers to BidenFactSquad.org, a page that catalogs a number of comments from Biden as well excerpts of reporting on him--all of which would likely elicit progressive criticism. The questionable comments include Biden saying in 2015, "I really like Dick Cheney for real. I get on with him, I think he's a decent man."
The page also includes a damning snippet from New York magazine's Eric Levitz, who wrote earlier this year, "It is hard to name an infamously unjust feature of America's criminal-justice system that Joe Biden didn't help to bring about."
Cohen suggests Biden getting the Democratic Party ticket would likely amount to a second Trump administration.
"Poll after poll shows that people under 35 are more progressive and more anti-Trump than older voters," he said. "Biden's dismissive attitude raises the specter of a re-run of the 2016 Democratic defeat, when too many young people did not vote or voted third-party."
Action for a Progressive Future, which runs the progressive advocacy group RootsAction, says the ad will run for at least one week throughout the state of New Hampshire, which makes it likely that viewers in and around the cities of Boston, Burlington, Vermont, and Portland, Maine will also see the ad.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
"It's garbage."
That's one young voter's assessment of Joe Biden's comment last year that he has "no empathy" for young people. The comment is the focus of a new television ad targeting the former vice president and Democratic presidential hopeful. It's set to begin airing Monday evening on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."
"We launched this ad to convey a simple message," said Action for a Progressive Future co-founder Jeff Cohen in a statement, "that Democrats would have a hard time defeating Trump with a candidate who belittles young voters and their very real struggles."
Watch the ad, which features younger voters in Durham, New Hampshire, below:
In a 2018 interview with The Los Angeles Times Biden said, "The younger generation now tells me how tough things are. Give me a break. No, no, I have no empathy for it. Give me a break. Because here's the deal guys, we decided we were gonna change the world. And we did."
The comment does not sit well with the young voters featured in the new video.
"Does he know what it's like to carry $40,000 in college debt and have a minimum wage job?" asks one woman.
"If we want to beat Trump in 2020," adds another woman, "we need a candidate who actually speaks to young people instead of insulting them."
The new ad also directs viewers to BidenFactSquad.org, a page that catalogs a number of comments from Biden as well excerpts of reporting on him--all of which would likely elicit progressive criticism. The questionable comments include Biden saying in 2015, "I really like Dick Cheney for real. I get on with him, I think he's a decent man."
The page also includes a damning snippet from New York magazine's Eric Levitz, who wrote earlier this year, "It is hard to name an infamously unjust feature of America's criminal-justice system that Joe Biden didn't help to bring about."
Cohen suggests Biden getting the Democratic Party ticket would likely amount to a second Trump administration.
"Poll after poll shows that people under 35 are more progressive and more anti-Trump than older voters," he said. "Biden's dismissive attitude raises the specter of a re-run of the 2016 Democratic defeat, when too many young people did not vote or voted third-party."
Action for a Progressive Future, which runs the progressive advocacy group RootsAction, says the ad will run for at least one week throughout the state of New Hampshire, which makes it likely that viewers in and around the cities of Boston, Burlington, Vermont, and Portland, Maine will also see the ad.
"It's garbage."
That's one young voter's assessment of Joe Biden's comment last year that he has "no empathy" for young people. The comment is the focus of a new television ad targeting the former vice president and Democratic presidential hopeful. It's set to begin airing Monday evening on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."
"We launched this ad to convey a simple message," said Action for a Progressive Future co-founder Jeff Cohen in a statement, "that Democrats would have a hard time defeating Trump with a candidate who belittles young voters and their very real struggles."
Watch the ad, which features younger voters in Durham, New Hampshire, below:
In a 2018 interview with The Los Angeles Times Biden said, "The younger generation now tells me how tough things are. Give me a break. No, no, I have no empathy for it. Give me a break. Because here's the deal guys, we decided we were gonna change the world. And we did."
The comment does not sit well with the young voters featured in the new video.
"Does he know what it's like to carry $40,000 in college debt and have a minimum wage job?" asks one woman.
"If we want to beat Trump in 2020," adds another woman, "we need a candidate who actually speaks to young people instead of insulting them."
The new ad also directs viewers to BidenFactSquad.org, a page that catalogs a number of comments from Biden as well excerpts of reporting on him--all of which would likely elicit progressive criticism. The questionable comments include Biden saying in 2015, "I really like Dick Cheney for real. I get on with him, I think he's a decent man."
The page also includes a damning snippet from New York magazine's Eric Levitz, who wrote earlier this year, "It is hard to name an infamously unjust feature of America's criminal-justice system that Joe Biden didn't help to bring about."
Cohen suggests Biden getting the Democratic Party ticket would likely amount to a second Trump administration.
"Poll after poll shows that people under 35 are more progressive and more anti-Trump than older voters," he said. "Biden's dismissive attitude raises the specter of a re-run of the 2016 Democratic defeat, when too many young people did not vote or voted third-party."
Action for a Progressive Future, which runs the progressive advocacy group RootsAction, says the ad will run for at least one week throughout the state of New Hampshire, which makes it likely that viewers in and around the cities of Boston, Burlington, Vermont, and Portland, Maine will also see the ad.