The United States presidential election is just around the corner, and Donald Trump’s campaign realizes that it is not voters' favorite at the moment. In a bid to amend its rundown reputation, the president's campaign has started booking spots for a television ad blitz which will be aired in several key swing states as the election draw near.
Carrying a steep price tag of $90 million, the ad buy is a result of some of Trump's aides identifying warning signs in North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, and several key states, according to people familiar with the decision. Ad tracking firms Medium Buying and Advertising Analytics announced that Trump’s campaign has reserved ad time in key states of North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida, and Arizona starting in September.
In 2016, Trump was victorious in all six states. Aside from this ad purchase, the Trump administration is airing other ads against Joe Biden in North Carolina, according to a WXII report. On June 29, Advertising Analytics revealed that the buy was worth more than $16 million, later announcing that they buy across all of the states set Trump's administration back $95 million.
Last week, Trump surpassed Biden in terms of Facebook ad spending. These investments are a result of polls showing Trump lagging behind the presumptive Democratic nominee. A survey conducted by a New York Times Upshot/ Sienna College shows Biden is leading Trump in Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Arizona.
It can be recalled that Trump won these states by just a thin margin against Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton in 2016. The president continues to face strong criticism for not taking the pandemic seriously in its initial stage and failing to show empathy during the nation-wide protests triggered by the murder of George Floyd.
The progress comes after reports about the Trump campaign booking ad space in Georgia surfaces online. Republican presidential candidates consider Georgia as a traditionally reliable state. A recently published Fox News poll shows Biden is leading Trump there by two points.
Trump administration's latest move suggests it is ramping up the defense in states Trump needs to win a second term. A public poll in Michigan shows Trump has a thin chance of winning in the state. That coincides with the campaign's current data, people familiar with the matter claim. These sources refused to be named as the internal results have not been made available to the public yet.