Biden boosts spending while Trump cancels outlays
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s massive campaign war chest was supposed to finance an onslaught of attacks that would destroy Joe Biden’s chance of winning in November.
But after months of profligate spending, the attacks did little to diminish the Democratic nominee’s standing. Trump’s formidable cash advantage has evaporated. And it is Biden who over the past month has outspent Trump by nearly double, advertising data shows.
Coming off a recordshattering $364 million August fundraising haul, Biden is pouring tens of millions of dollars into a torrent of ads airing in battleground states. The aim is to get out his message of competent leadership, while pinning blame on Trump for a lost year, wracked by disease, unrest and economic hardship.
Trump’s campaign, meanwhile, has implemented recent belttightening measures and went dark on TV multiple times in August to conserve resources, worrying allies that Democrats could drown him out on TV with weeks left in the campaign.
On Monday, the Trump campaign canceled at least $2.5 million worth of advertising that was planned for Iowa, Ohio and Nevada, where he campaigned over the weekend, the data show. Last week he also canceled ads in those states, as well as in Arizona, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.
“It should be an alarm to every Republican donor that they’ve got to dig deep and give more,” said David McIntosh, a former Indiana congressman who leads the conservative Club for Growth, which has come to Trump’s aid by running commercials on his behalf.
“Fox News will help carry (Trump’s) message, but the mainstream media won’t. That means he’s got to have enough resources to go over their heads and talk directly with voters.”
Advertising is not likely to be a deciding factor in the presidential contest, but it is a powerful tool to influence perceptions. And it has taken on heightened importance this year because the coronavirus has limited direct contact with voters, particularly for Democrats who have eschewed knocking on doors to encourage turnout. That places added value on not only crafting messages that resonate, but also saturating TV and social media with them.
Biden is currently running ads aimed at suburbanites, Black voters and is also running Spanish language ads to target Latinos. He’s also ramped up his own attacks on Trump.
Trump’s campaign dismisses concerns that they don’t have the resources to compete, pointing to $200 million in ad reservations they’ve made through the election.