USA TODAY International Edition
Trump has a 2020 online juggernaut
Dems must close this alarming gap
Propelled by insecurity, egotism and more than a passing interest in getting reelected, President Donald Trump has been running a general election campaign since his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017. This is unprecedented but should not be a surprise. For three years, he has shown a willingness to use every lever of government to support his personal political aims, and his campaign apparatus has already been reaching voters day in and day out.
The Trump campaign has built an online juggernaut. Since the 2018 midterm elections, the campaign, led by former digital director Brad Parscale, has spent over $ 26 million on Facebook and Google advertising alone. That’s more than the four top- polling Democrats have spent combined.
As those Democrats are heavily advertising toward progressive base voters in early- nominating states like Iowa and New Hampshire, Trump continues to expand his online grassroots army of supporters that he can activate for fundraising and mobilization through Election Day. Via digital advertising, his campaign is spending money to make money, as its small- dollar donor list expands to historic levels, and its digital juggernaut collects the cellphone numbers and email addresses of every voter they need to win in 2020.
The Trump campaign is not just speaking to his most fervent die- hards online. Supported by a national party committee that seemingly prints money faster than they can spend it, the Trump campaign has shown a willingness to spend big to reach national audiences, including purchasing a masthead takeover of YouTube to troll Democrats on the night of their first debate, and to denounce the congressional impeachment inquiry as a “witch hunt.”
Trump online ad onslaught
On one occasion in the spring, his campaign ran targeted Spanish- language Facebook ads denouncing Venezuelan socialism to potential voters in Florida. The Trump campaign also benefits from a vast network of online conservative digital media properties like The Daily Wire, Prager U and The Western Journal that fill his voters’ newsfeeds with misinformation on sites like Facebook, and the mainstream news media often amplify these narratives to the general public.
Little on the left has been done to counter the president’s advertising onslaught online. This isn’t simply about playing defense. We can’t leave anything to chance. Even if the Trump campaign were asleep at the switch, progressives should be running a persistent, well- funded campaign to the voters who will decide this presidential election — not episodically, but consistently and across all available platforms, newsfeeds and channels where voters go for their news.
It is not the job of Democratic presidential candidates to bear that burden alone; they must spend precious dollars in a still crowded and competitive primary. The responsibility to define the opposition and push narratives to key constituencies rests primarily on the shoulders of outside spending organizations and political action committees. Not a single progressive political organization began to fill that void until late summer — and to this day these groups and their donors remain underinvested in the digital space.
That is why we are launching Four is Enough, a $ 75 million digital effort to fill that gap. A program of the progressive political action committee PACRONYM, Four is Enough will counter the Trump campaign’s online narratives with voters in key states. We’ll reach audiences on Facebook, YouTube and other platforms, and engage them from now until next November.
Don’t cede the field
While some on the left debate whether digital ads now can move the needle, we believe it’s dangerous to cede the field. No reputable consumer brand stops marketing to customers for long stretches, and the Trump campaign certainly understands the value of always- on marketing.
As the Democratic nomination could last through the spring and into next summer, progressives must spend every day reaching voters and testing messages to increase widespread support and engagement that will benefit the eventual nominee in what will be a grueling battle against Trump next fall. The Trump campaign will know these battleground states and their voters better than anyone else. It is already working hard to try to influence those voters’ perceptions of our potential nominee — whoever that nominee is.
Under these dire circumstances, our nominee will have to shift the entire campaign strategy to run a different election to different voters on a dime. Democrats need to do whatever is within our control today to set the nominee up for success next year. This means groups on the left must begin spending at scale to communicate with key voters in the states where the election will be decided.
There will be no magic message, ad or candidate. It will take time to learn how to build the most effective case to the right voters. Gone are the days of last minute TV advertising, or even a late digital burst, to compete or change the narrative. A sustained campaign to counter the GOP and push strong Democratic messages must start now.
Our analysis suggests that less than 2 million voters in a few states will determine the outcome of this election. They must receive facts and progressive narratives where they go to get their information online, to counter the misinformation they receive on a daily basis from the Trump campaign and its foreign allies. We have no more time to waste. The general election has begun, and only one side is on the field.