President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is laying out an “aggressive” strategy for July, including launching a new media blitz and battleground state swing, after the president’s disappointing debate performance last week rocked the political world. 

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is laying out an “aggressive” strategy for July, including launching a new media blitz and battleground state swing, after the president’s disappointing debate performance shook the political world 
  • As part of its strategy for the month, Biden’s team will spend $50 million on a fresh ad blitz focused on reproductive health, the economy and democracy
  • During the Republican National Convention later this month, he will speak at the NAACP and UnidosUS conferences in Las Vegas in swing state Nevada
  • The campaign also specifically notes that Biden will “engage in frequent off-the-cuff moments,” appearing to address calls for the president to do more unscripted events without a teleprompter 

As part of its strategy for the month, Biden’s team will spend $50 million on a fresh ad blitz focused on reproductive health, the economy and democracy, the campaign noted in a new memo. The ads will run in battleground states around high viewership events, particularly the season premiere of ABC's "The Bachelorette," the Olympics Games and the Republican National Convention, which kicks off in Milwaukee later this month.

The campaign is also looking to take on concerns raised by some Democrats following Biden’s performance against former President Donald Trump last week in Atlanta, including that he needs to get out in front of voters on the campaign trail to show stamina and participate in more unscripted events. 

After hitting Wisconsin on Friday and Pennsylvania over the weekend – two stops added to his schedule in the wake of the debate – in July, the president will also set off on a swing through the southwest battlegrounds. During the Republican National Convention later this month, he will speak at the NAACP and UnidosUS conferences in Las Vegas in swing state Nevada. The four White House principals, a group that also includes the vice president, second gentleman and first lady, will travel to every battleground state this month. 

The campaign also specifically notes that Biden will “engage in frequent off-the-cuff moments,” pointing to the president's stop at a Waffle House to pick up food after last week’s debate as an example.  

The incumbent president’s performance in the first general election debate of the 2024 cycle, in which he appeared to be low energy and at times stumble and lose his train of thought sparked a chorus of calls from some in the Democratic party for Biden to engage more with the press and rely less on the teleprompter – a tool he uses in nearly all speeches at the White House and on the campaign trail – to show voters last Thursday was just one “bad night,” as his team as consistently framed it. 

The president’s reelection campaign will also spend $17 million on its efforts to reach voters on the ground in battleground states, setting a goal of knocking on more than 3 million doors over July and August. 

It all comes as the fallout from the debate for the Biden camp escalated this week, with three House Democrats now officially calling on the president to pull out of the race while other Democratic lawmakers stepped up their willingness to question Biden’s place as the party’s nominee this November. 

The Biden team has been in clean up mode, with the White House announcing new public events on the president’s schedule, including a sit-down interview with ABC on Friday and a solo press conference next week, and Biden calling key congressional allies and convening Democratic governors for a meeting earlier this week. 

At the White House’s Fourth of July celebration on Thursday, the president declared that he wasn’t going anywhere in terms of the race in response to something shouted by a supporter in attendance.