Big political groups not shy about using virus in 2020 ads
While local candidates have worried about politicizing the COVID-19 pandemic in their races in Western Pennsylvania, national political groups and presidential campaigns have flooded the state’s airwaves — on television and on social media — with advertisements that aren’t so subtle.
President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign went up with a digital ad this week in Pennsylvania and 16 other states that featured clips of Democratic governors praising his administration’s response to the pandemic, while two of the most prominent liberal super PACs continued to fight back with spots of their own accusing him of botching the federal effort.
Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign sparred with groups supporting Mr. Trump, with each side accusing the other of being too cozy with China.
The Trump campaign’s spot, at nearly two minutes long, is running on Facebook and YouTube, and rattles off a list of compliments that Democratic governors have given the president — including some from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, both Democrats.
“These were just extraordinary efforts and acts of mobilization, and the federal government stepped up,” Mr. Cuomo says in the video. “We needed help and they were there.”
The advertisement is part of a seven-figure nationwide advertising buy praising Mr. Trump’s response to the virus. A campaign spokeswoman said it shows that “even Democratic governors recognize President Trump’s tireless work to combat the coronavirus and his commitment to protecting all Americans.”
The Democratic Governors Association, responding to the campaign’s advertisement, tweeted, “Reminder that Trump is extorting praise from Democratic governors during a deadly national tragedy,” and posted a public opinion poll minutes later showing that 69% of Americans approve of the governors’ handling of COVID-19 while 44% approve of the president’s.
Mr. Biden’s campaign put up advertisements on Facebook and Instagram in Pennsylvania and five other battleground states in April, contrasting Mr. Trump’s response to the virus with the former vice president’s early warnings of the need to prepare. In “key media markets” in Pennsylvania, the ad is running on YouTube, according to a campaign official.
The Biden advertisement also suggests that Mr. Trump was overcomplimentary of China as the virus was beginning to spread around the globe — a response to an ad from America First, a PAC supporting the president, that claimed Mr. Biden “voted for job-killing trade deals with China and failed to support the China travel ban to stop coronavirus.”
America First is investing $10 million on television ads in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin through the end of May.
Two liberal super PACs that started the election cycle working to swing working-class voters away from Mr. Trump are now advertising to those voters about the president’s handling of the virus, too.
Priorities USA Action has reserved more than $64 million in television advertising through November in seven battleground states, including Pennsylvania, and American Bridge recently launched a six-figure campaign in Pennsylvania juxtaposing local news coverage with the damage caused by Mr. Trump’s response, according to the group.
Jack Doyle, director of outreach for Priorities USA’s Pennsylvania effort, said the PAC’s goal is to keep voters informed about the president’s actions and make sure “people get the real stories of how he initially reacted to this, his initial claims and what he’s doing right now.
“I think there was always a sense from the public that Trump was a little incompetent and irresponsible,” Mr. Doyle said. “That was easier to live with when the president didn’t have to deal with a major crisis.”
The Pennsylvania investment was pinned at $13 million, the PAC said, in four media markets, including Pittsburgh. One of the spots said Mr. Trump had indeed put America first: in the number of COVID-19 cases and the number of fatalities, among other countries.
Another of its ads contrasts testimonials from doctors and nurses with clips of Mr. Trump questioning how much equipment they need. It was met with pushback from the Trump campaign, which accused the group of taking the president’s quote out of context — insisting that he was saying the requested quantity of masks sounded large, but was necessary.
Jeb Fain, a communications director for American Bridge, said Democrats should have no qualms about holding the president accountable.
“The mission from the onset of this presidency was to hold Donald Trump accountable,” Mr. Fain said. “That hasn’t changed.”