By Nnamdi Egwuonwu and Megan Lebowitz —
NBC News
In its first ad following the State of the Union address, Joe Biden's campaign released a new ad highlighting his Administration's accomplishments while making humorous references to the president's age.
“Look, I'm not a young guy.
That's no secret,” Biden, 81, said in the announcement.
“But this is the thing.
I know how to get things done for the American people.
I led the country during the COVID-19 crisis.
Today we have the strongest economy in the world.”
The 60-second ad, aired Saturday, is the first in a six-week, $30 million ad campaign announced this week by the president's team.
The campaign video will air on local networks and cable television in the main battleground states for the presidential elections: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Specifically, it is aimed at young voters and voters of color in cities such as Atlanta, Detroit, Las Vegas, Madison, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Raleigh.
President Joe Biden at a meeting for reproductive freedom in Manassas, Virginia, on January 23, 2024. Julia Nikhinson / Bloomberg via Getty Images file
The ad gives an idea of how the campaign intends to address the issue of Biden's age, which polls show is a drag on his re-election bid.
An NBC News poll released last month found that 62% of voters had “significant concerns” about the president's age.
Former president Donald Trump is 77 years old.
“Do you want to talk about age?
Let's talk about age," the campaign's communications director, Michael Tyler, said in a statement on Saturday.
[Biden responds to doubts about his age and fitness for office with a combative speech]
“At 77 years old, Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump.
At 78, he led the response to the COVID-19 crisis, has created nearly 15 million new jobs since the day he took office, and passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act to repair our roads and bridges and expand the broadband Internet access to all communities,” Tyler said.
“At age 79, he gave us the most important gun safety legislation in a generation and became the first president to beat Big Pharma by cutting the cost of insulin to $35 for seniors,” he added.
The final seconds of the new ad show a blooper take, when someone off-camera asks the president for “one more take.”
“Look, I'm very young, vigorous and handsome, what the hell am I doing this for?” Biden joked.
The ad also seeks to draw a contrast between Biden and Trump, highlighting the 2022 infrastructure bill, measures to reduce prescription drug prices and the president's determination to “make Roe v.
“Wade becomes the law of the land again.”
“Donald Trump believes that the president's job is to take care of Donald Trump,” Biden said in the announcement.
“I believe that the president's job is to fight for you, the American people, and that is what I am doing.”