Biden targets Trump’s conviction as tensions ramp up ahead of debate

CNN - President Joe Biden is directly trying to exploit Donald Trump’s criminal conviction in a significant new campaign gambit ahead of their pivotal debate clash next week.

The Biden campaign on Monday debuted a new ad that will air in battleground states that blasts the presumptive Republican nominee as a felon who only cares about himself. The strategy appears to resolve a debate among Democrats about how overtly they should highlight the ex-president’s legal woes in a neck and neck White House race.

The new front in the 2024 campaign opened up after Trump sought to win votes among Black Americans, a traditional Democratic power base where the ex-president is trying to make inroads despite his tarnished personal history on race. This comes as Republicans embrace their presumptive nominee despite his conviction and bid to overturn the 2020 election result, going all in on Trump as they seek to win back the White House and the Senate and keep the House.