(CNN) Joe Biden describes the coronavirus crisis as a "war" and frontline workers as "soldiers" in a new digital ad that will air in battleground states.

"This is a war, and these are our soldiers," Biden says, speaking directly to the camera as video of paramedics and nurses providing care amidst the pandemic cuts in and out. "As President, I wouldn't send an American soldier anywhere in the world without all the equipment and protection they need. We should not do any less for the heroes on the frontlines in this battle we're in now."

In an attempt to offer an implicit contrast with President Donald Trump , the Biden campaign is using the ad to show the former vice president as someone who can empathize with Americans during difficult times -- a strategy they have employed since the outbreak of the pandemic.

While the campaign has launched a handful of negative ads criticizing Trump's handling of the crisis, this is the first ad showcasing Biden's empathy without mentioning the current President's name. The ad will air on Facebook and Instagram as part of a previous digital ad buy in battleground states, including Wisconsin, which still intends to hold a primary election on April 7. The campaign has spent about $870,000 on Facebook ads in the last week and nearly $9.4 million on the social media platform to date.

Biden pointedly says in the ad that the crisis is "unlike anything" the nation has faced before but adds that he "couldn't be prouder" of the response of the American people. The United States is seeing the "soul of this nation" on display, he says, invoking his campaign's mantra. The ad ends with Biden on camera: "The American people have never, ever, ever let their country down. We've just got to give them all they need -- now."

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