The big picture: The television and digital ads obtained by Axios ultimately were discarded for being “too hot,” according to sources with direct knowledge of their history. The predator spot was a genre of ad that made Trump especially wary, the sources said.

It showed clips of women who accused Biden of inappropriate touching, paired with now-Vice President Kamala Harris saying, “I know a predator when I see one.”

“He never wanted to run the predator or women’s-style ads against Biden, because he was afraid he was going to open up his own can of worms,” one source close to the campaign told Axios, a sentiment another source confirmed.

The ad targeting Lemon, a favorite punching bag of the former president, focused on his coverage of Black Lives Matter protests last summer.