Harris campaign releases ad of former Trump officials blasting him ahead of debate

Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris's presidential campaign will air a new ad Tuesday that features former Trump officials blasting GOP presidential nominee former President Donald Trump as unfit to be president, ahead their debate that night.

Trump and Harris will debate in Philadelphia – their first and perhaps only debate after President Joe Biden dropped his bid for reelection. The debate will be moderated by ABC News' David Muir and Linsey Davis.

The minute-long advertisement, which has already been released online, includes comments from former Vice President Mike Pence, former National Security Advisor John Bolton, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.

"Take it from the people who knew him best," a narrator says in the advertisement.

The comments on the former president were all made in 2023, before Trump and Harris became their respective party's nominees, according to Fox News.

"Anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be President of the United States," Pence said in the clip. The comment was originally made in August of 2023, after Trump was indicted for allegedly attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Pence has publicly stated that he would not vote for Trump in 2024, but he also said last month that he will "never vote for Kamala Harris as President of the United States."

The ad also included a comment from former Trump Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, who responded "no" when asked if the former president could be trusted with the country's secrets. 

"It's just irresponsible action that places our service members at risk, places our national security at risk," Esper told CNN in 2023.

The ad concluded with Milley's comment in September 2023 that the U.S. Armed Forces do not pledge loyalty to "wannabe dictators," in an indirect jab at Trump.

"We don't take an oath to a king, or a queen, or a tyrant, or a dictator," Milley said. "And we don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator."

Trump's campaign attacked the ad, which will broadcast nationally on multiple Fox affiliates, as an attempt to distract from how liberal Harris is.

"The Kamala campaign is using the words of a few disgruntled losers because they are losing in the polls," Trump campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News. "[They are] trying to distract from the fact that Kamala is losing support from moderate Democrats who realize how dangerously liberal she is."

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.