Trump campaign halts ad spend to review
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign halted radio and TV advertising spending this week while it reviews its strategy under new campaign management.
With 95 days until the election, the Trump campaign spent only $4,700 on advertisements over the past three days while Democratic rival Joe Biden spent about $6 million in the same time period, according to Advertising Analytics.
The move comes almost two weeks after the Trump campaign named Bill Stepien as the new campaign manager, demoting Brad Parscale amid slipping poll numbers for the president.
The strategy review was first reported by NBC News.
Mr. Trump has seen his poll numbers tumble over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic — which has killed more than 150,000 people in the U.S. — the economic crash and his response to the nationwide protests following the police killing of George Floyd. Mr. Trump is trailing Mr. Biden by 8 percentage points, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.
The campaign also has little advertising planned for the month of August. Mr. Trump has about $26,000 booked through the end of the month, while Mr. Biden has booked $4 million during the same period, according to Advertising Analytics. In July, the president outspent his rival $48 million to $32 million.
Even as the Trump campaign takes a hiatus from advertising, super PACs are spending on his behalf. Trump-aligned America First Action spent $1.4 million in advertising since Wednesday and has $8 million booked through the end of August. The Trump campaign has booked $146 million in advertising from September through Election Day, according to Advertising Analytics. Mr. Biden has very little secured time after Labor Day.
The change in Mr. Trump’s campaign leadership followed a series of steps to shake up the race, including a change in tone on the coronavirus. Mr. Trump is now giving regular briefings on the issue, encouraging Americans to wear masks, social distance and donate plasma if they’ve already contracted the virus.
The president was counting on a strong economy and historically low unemployment numbers to boost his re-election efforts, but since the pandemic hit the U.S. economy, his campaign has struggled to find a new message.