MAINE, USA — On Monday, President Trump’s reelection campaign announced an eight-figure television advertising buy, ramping up its presence in 10 key states with early voting. The new ad campaign focuses on the economy, the Trump campaign says, and will run on national cable and local broadcast and cable.
According to the Trump campaign, this buy increases its television advertising by nearly 50 percent and shifts the focus of the campaign to the economy, which they say, “contrasts President Trump’s strong economic record with Joe Biden’s 47 years of failure.”
Maine, specifically Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, is among the key early voting places that will see the new advertisements. Electoral College votes are up for grabs in the 2nd Congressional District, which Trump hopes to claim. Maine is one of two states that doesn’t follow the “winner take all” system for electoral votes—Nebraska is the other, where the ads will also be focused on the 2nd Congressional District.
The other states included in the ad buy are: North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. These are crucial battleground states with early voting options.
“This week’s advertising continues our strategic plan to follow the dates on the calendar, the states that are voting early, the data that always guides our decision-making and our pathway to 270,” Trump 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien said in a release.
As for the ads themselves, the one that will run on cable news nationwide focuses on Joe Biden, attacking him for his “bad trade deals.” The ad says, unlike Biden who will put “China first,” Trump is the “jobs president” who will “always put American first.”
The battleground states will see another attack ad on Biden, this time focusing on the post-coronavirus economy. The woman in the ad says, “Joe Biden could never handle the economy after COVID, there’s no way.”
"As a small-business owner, Trump has been the greatest president we’ve seen," the woman says. "He’s increased jobs — I know there are more women and minorities who have been employed than ever before and it’s just been the greatest economic environment I’ve ever seen in my lifetime."
In response to the attack ads the Trump campaign is pushing out in Maine, Maine Biden campaign senior advisor Spencer Thibodeau says the ads are an "attempt to recover his reputation with Mainers who have seen unprecedented job loss under his watch" and will "become just another broken promise following countless others."
Thibodeau said, “President Trump’s disastrous record on the economy speaks for itself. His failed leadership has cost 4.7 million Americans their jobs, created the worst trade deficit in over a decade, and created a tax loophole that actually rewards companies for shipping jobs overseas. This attempt to recover his reputation with Mainers who have seen unprecedented job loss under his watch will become just another broken promise following countless others. Joe Biden has proven his commitment to American workers time and time again. As president, he will promote the return of Maine jobs, untangle Maine workers from Trump’s reckless tariff war, and won’t prioritize special interests over the future of Maine and its workers.”
The ads began airing on Tuesday.
