Harris campaign taunts Trump about crowd size obsession with debate day attack ad featuring Obama

The Harris campaign is taunting Donald Trump about his “obsession” with crowd sizes in a debate day attack ad featuring Barack Obama.

The campaign shared its latest ad, titled “Crowd Size”, on debate day in a bid to rile up the Republican presidential nominee before the pair go head-to-head tonight in Philadelphia.

Rehashing memorable lines from Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention last month, the ad slams Trump for only “whining about his problems” and mocks his crowd size “obsession”.

“He’s a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems,” Obama says. The ad then cuts to a clip of Trump saying: “Oh, she had a big crowd”.

“This weird obsession with crowd sizes. It just goes on and on,” Obama says, before the ad cuts to – accompanied by the sound of crickets – Trump rallies, where it appears to show very few people in the crowd. One of his supporters is seen yawning in the background.

It contrasts the scenes, which have been selected specifically for the campaign ad, to huge crowds at the DNC. “America is ready for a new chapter. We are ready for President Kamala Harris,” Obama says at the end.

Harris-Walz communications director, Michael Tyler, said: “Trump spends a lot of time concerned about his crowd sizes, but the American people are far more concerned about which candidate will make their lives better – and it’s not the guy running on the Project 2025 agenda.”

He added: “Tonight’s debate will present the stark choice Americans will face at the ballot box: between Vice President Harris who is fighting for the people to make our lives better, and the guy who can’t seem to stop obsessing about himself and the size of his crowds.”

Trump – who has in the past used Obama’s middle name to falsely suggest he’s Muslim – complained the Obamas were “too personal” with their attacks against him at the DNC.

“He was taking shots at your president, and so was Michelle,” Trump said. “You know, they always say, ‘Sir, please stick to policy, don’t get personal’, but they’re getting personal all night, these people.”

The ad will air nationally on cable, including Fox News, as well in media markets like West Palm Beach – where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club is – and in Philadelphia as part of a $370m media blitz by the campaign.

Just yesterday, the campaign released another video that featured clips of former Trump administration officials slamming the ex-president and warning of the dangers he poses if elected to office again this November.

Former senior officials who appear in the aggressive ad include former vice president Mike Pence, former defense secretary Mark Esper, national security adviser John Bolton, and chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2019 until 2023, General Mark Milley.