Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and poking around the web, when I came across this headline at MSNBC’s site.

‘Trump doesn’t trust women; I do’: Biden ad hits Trump’s attacks on reproductive freedom

Really, Doc – that’s the best he’s got? Doesn’t trust women? That’s his indictment of the Grabber in Chief?

– Trusty Reader

Dear TR,

The TV spot was triggered by the state of Florida’s new six-week abortion ban, and according to this piece by Weija Jiang at CBS Mornings, “[Biden’s] campaign says it has a ‘seven-figure buy’ for this ad as part of a $30 million advertising effort in the major battleground states: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Nevada.”

“In 2016, Donald Trump ran to overturn Roe v. Wade. Now, in 2024, he’s running to pass a national ban on a woman’s right to choose,” Biden says in the ad. He pointedly avoids mentioning either Florida’s new law or Trump’s stated opposition to a six-week abortion ban, letting viewers draw their own conclusions, accurate or not.

(Then again, Trump was America’s first Cubist President – on every side of every issue – so previous statements are no guarantee of future policy.)

The Doc’s diagnosis: There’s no question Biden’s assertion that “Trump doesn’t trust women” soft-pedals Trump’s reprehensible history of misogyny, misconduct, and more – see Mariel Padilla’s piece at The 19th for further details – but there are plenty of people out there excoriating Trump in far harsher terms (lookin’ at you, George Conway).

Over all, it’s sensible for Biden to leave the heavy lifting to others on this front.