The 6 “Best” Trump Ads of the Past 60 Days
Nobody wants to hear this right now. Nobody asked for this and nobody is waiting with bated breath for a critical analysis of Donald Trump's campaign videos, but it's incredibly urgent and important that we talk about it.
I've been a video editor in New York for the past five years. I've worked for companies like Spotify and Amazon, and I briefly edited videos for Joe Biden's campaign last summer (back when I still had hope that Bernie had a shot at the nomination). I’ve also edited a number of movie trailers, making me uniquely qualified to assess the Trump campaign’s political ads. Because that’s what they ultimately are: a series of movie trailers.
Whether for an apocalyptic (and wildly patriotic) action movie or a full on “jump scare” horror flick, the editing in Donald Trump's campaign videos is truly a master stroke. If I had no moral compass and no reservations about spreading fear and inciting hate, this would be the best editing gig in the world. It's a 101 course on how to create the most shameless possible satire with the highest possible of stakes. You have access to arguably one of the largest unified platforms in the country and you are essentially given free reign to be a horribly devious and sadistically unhinged alt-right Vic Berger.
I started delving into this catalogue because I believe the modern conception of how you get to know someone is by consuming the same media as them. Whether we agree with what we’re intaking or not, all of that content occupies a notable amount of real estate in our heads. It informs us on a factual level and influences our emotions and deeper personal biases. There is only so much control that we have over media’s effect on us and depending on how it’s constructed that effect can be profoundly insidious. So without further ado, let’s get on with it.
6. Seven Hundred Percent
September 18th 2020
As far as ads go, this is relatively tame. The music immediately kicks in with an almost newsroom like quality as an authoritative voice paints a picture of how decisive our president has been during COVID. There are some odd elements here that start to prick your ears up. The weird insert of angry Joe Biden pointing at Trump immediately creates the sensation that Biden isn’t a person, he’s a mean old cardboard cut-out with a waggily lower lip. We go from there pretty quickly into a lot of blatant fear mongering flashing the names Syria, Yemen, and Somalia over explosions and fires. They want you to develop these associations quickly.
It seems very overt, but then they re-enforce them many more times in the next couple seconds. Digital flames fly off the word “America” implying that under Biden’s furrowed brow, America is going to burn. If you look over Biden’s right shoulder, there is even a mushroom cloud pluming off in the distance.
Immediately, we cut to some “let’s lock and load” music as a man shows up to provide some real leadership. That man is Donald Trump and he approves this message.
5. Beijing Biden
August 27th 2020
The number one way to create urgency in any trailer: add a ticking clock. It’s a motif you can jump back to over and over while simultaneously giving your video momentum and drive. I urge you to listen to this with headphones because these are the two sounds that stand out immediately:
The fast clock is slightly quieter; buried in the mix. We’re not supposed to consciously think about it, but it’s there giving the viewer a certain amount of anxiety. The slower clock is more of a guiding line. The heartbeat for us to step in time with. It’s also adding a level of anxiety which is only heightened by the fact that every other beat is an unpleasant metallic scraping sound. It’s no ordinary clock, it’s an ominous harbinger of our impending doom. And with each tick and scrape, the cracks in lady liberty’s foundation spread.
Suddenly, dramatic music kicks in, almost as if we’re in an Avengers movie. This is the main goal the Trump campaign is hoping to accomplish. They want to mythologize the presidential race. They want it to feel like a blockbuster action movie. In those movies there’s no nuance or gray area. There are good guys and bad guys and the fate of the world is at stake.
In this case, the ad plainly proposes that we’re in a full on Manchurian Candidate scenario where Joe Biden is a plant by the Chinese government, here to erode our democracy. The most interesting part about this is they never suggest any specific result or threat from this subterfuge, other than the existential one of being infiltrated by China. They want the viewer to be afraid without having a tangible reason for that fear to hold onto. It’s much more difficult to debate a feeling or an implication. This is why the sound design is appropriately taking up the mantle of the campaign’s dog whistle
4. Joe Biden will NEVER stand up to the Liberal Mob.
September 5th 2020
We’ve officially gone through the looking glass folks. Every video you’re going to see from here on out is infinitely more extreme than the last. There isn’t too much to say other than, this is the first time we’re seeing the “weaponized” use of Kamala Harris laughing. The creators of these videos love to use this clip of her. A lot. You’ll see it manipulated in a few different ways, but for now this is their most blatant application of it.
You will also see a little more of Biden kneeling, giving a clear association that to kneel is to submit to anarchy and destruction. The Liberal Mob is out of control and they need to be stopped. It is truly an Us versus Them scenario and the situation has already escalated well beyond violence.
3. Joe Biden In His Own Words
October 6th 2020 (originally: August 17th 2020)
This ad is my personal favorite and what ultimately sent me down this rabbit hole in the first place. What immediately drew me in was how similar it felt to the trailer for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake from 2003. I’ll never forget that photography device and the disturbingly squeaky camera sound. It’s been used to greater effect since then, but the uneasiness evoked from this ad is definitely reminiscent.
You really have to appreciate the photo choices they made for this one. They manage to de-saturate his face with the camera flash effect, while also leaving the redness; giving the impression that he’s both sickly pale and flush with embarrassment. The way the video is constructed is akin to a suspense thriller. We’re unraveling some sort of horrible mystery and shedding light on something buried. (The original title for this video was “The Joe Biden They Are Hiding From You”) This is the Trump campaign’s version of Spotlight.
They highlight various lines with cuts of individual words blown up in typewriter font and let other words like “Boy” linger onscreen to underline their significance. “For what” repeating on screen with a photo of Biden flashing in and out, inverting colors to harken back to the Vic Berger style we’ve seen before. The ticking clock sneaking back in with a slight metallic squeal, stinging with the fade out. You’re supposed to draw your own conclusions within the overt framework of this being a clear cut unearthing of Biden’s sinister past. You almost don’t even have to do your own research.
2. Meet Joe Biden’s Supporters
September 5th 2020
This video is maybe the most dangerous and concretely detrimental one on the list. The intro is very similar to ultra-patriotic, apocalyptic action films like White House Down. The Liberal Mob is in full effect with a bass drop kicking in right as some young punk flicks off two hapless old people. The bass drop is employed 7 times over the course of a minute, in conjunction with another sound design staple, the “riser”.
If you listen for it, these two sound effects are used in tandem in literally every action movie trailer of the modern age. The reason they’re so prevalent is because they work 100% of the time. The riser undeniably ups the stakes, reaching a fever pitch, triggering the bass drop, and then forcing the viewer to “let that sink in” for a second. You think the trailer is already turned up to 11, but at the forty-five second mark, the riser kicks in, bringing things to a frenzied, hysteria ridden climax.
The ad paints the picture that The Purge is happening right now and the viewer is left unsurprised when major cities like New York and Portland are declared anarchist jurisdictions. This is by far the most harmful ad we’ve seen because it so intensely reinforces the antagonistic narrative that liberals are going to come to your city, burn down your businesses, and flick off your old people. It’s almost a call to action through the use of the ticking clock, the risers, and those epic, panic inducing cinematic horns. And of course, as the ad fades out you can hear Kamala’s laughter echoing off in the distance.
The fear mongering is at an all time high and the absurdity with which it’s executed only seems to add to its effectiveness. It’s a sizzle reel of all the most stirring violence you’ve seen in the news and it’s meant to activate a primal need within Trump’s base to defend themselves.
1. Inspired By Actual Events (The Bidening)
August 17th 2020
If you thought these couldn’t get any crazier, I would kindly ask that you check your expectations at the door and experience The Bidening. The premise of the initial attack is well trod territory. Trump is challenging Biden’s mental competence and calling his ability to lead into question. Where this ad deviates is when Biden turns into a ghost and creepily sneaks up behind the reporter interviewing him. If you’re reading this without watching the video first, please watch the video.
What makes this ad so great is that it does a surprisingly effective job of imitating the beats of a horror movie trailer. Biden suddenly disappears at the peak of an orchestral sting. The energy drops for a brief second with the hit of a low piano note. Where did he go? We don’t have to wonder long as the lights in the reporter’s room start flickering. Cartoon hands suddenly appear behind him and Biden slowly slides up in full “hair smelling” stance. Kamala’s laugh, again, echoes off in the distance, almost gleefully in support of Biden’s paranormal transgressions.
It’s played incredibly straight for how absurd the content of the video is. You wonder if the viewer is meant to be delighted by the joke? Scared? I could see how watching this late at night with the lights off would actually make you glance over your shoulder wondering if Biden is coming in for a back hug. And that implication, again, reveals the intention of the video. Biden is a caricature. An exaggerated version of a public figure reduced to the two traits the Trump campaign wants you to associate with him: creepiness and incompetence. The video is proof that you don’t have to take it seriously for those two points to still resonate. It’s a major tenet of crafting advertising. Even if you don’t consciously agree with the narrative, you’re still hungry.
That’s what all of these ads have to fall back on. Even if you’re not fully onboard with what’s being expressed, you’re still being manipulated on an instinctual level. Your feathers are ruffled and you’re left in a state of agitation. Many people have characterized Trump’s presidency as provocative, so it’s no surprise that his ads aren’t any different. Whether you like it or not you have a reaction to it and if you’re already susceptible to certain fears and biases, it gives those insecurities a hard yank.
While these ads are pretty entertaining in their ridiculousness, you see how people get activated by them when they’re already so prone to believe the fear and hate they’re spreading. In video editing, sound design is the most powerful tool one can implement for emotional manipulation. You can evoke whatever you want through a few key elements and at that point the story/visuals are just set dressing. You can create momentum, you can create urgency, and you can provoke fear. So many films already employ these techniques to equally support a xenophobic, fear mongering narrative. Properties like Taken, Olympus Has Fallen, and Jack Ryan all are working from the same playbook and it’s only natural for the Trump campaign to adopt it.
Which brings me back to my original point. If I didn’t have any reservations about making content that is so detrimental to the future of our country, I could imagine how working for a boss who has such a loving relationship with the film Bloodsport would be fun. If morality and restraint aren’t on the table, the possibilities are endless. Not to say that the work I did on Biden’s campaign was much more righteous. Most of the misrepresentations there being to cut down the number of “c’mon mans” per speech and pretending not to mind when my boss would use my correct pronouns in private and then misgender me when my co-worker's were around. Personal issues aside, it’s hard to say if there really is such a thing as a “good” campaign video.
When emotional manipulation is an integral part of your media output, you have to recognize its effect. We are so much more susceptible than we realize and the most sinister stimuli operate on that gut level. We know a lot of this bigotry and hatred is borne out of fear, but it’s important to wonder: who are the architects scaring these people and how did they get so good at it?