WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s campaign is dialing back on advertising in Midwestern states that secured his first term in office.
Data from the ad tracking firm Kantar/CMAG shows Trump’s campaign has canceled about $3.3 million in advertising planned for Iowa and Ohio this week. But details provided from Democratic advertising trackers reveal the phenomenon is more widespread.
The data shows Trump is running $1.3 million in advertising this week in Michigan, where Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is spending $2.9 million. In Wisconsin, Trump is spending $229,000 compared to Biden’s $2.5 million. And in Minnesota, a longtime Democratic stronghold where Trump hoped to make inroads, Biden is outspending him $1 million to Trump’s $289,000 this week.
The ad decisions by Trump’s campaign are puzzling.
He amassed a massive campaign bank account after his election, but Biden has outraised him in recent months. Many Republican donors have been alarmed by the campaign’s exorbitant spending on things unrelated to winning, including lavish payments to campaign consultants and surrogates.
The move also comes less than a week after Biden’s campaign took its attack ads in the wake of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus infection. Trump’s campaign did not extend the same courtesy to Biden’s campaign.
Trump on Wednesday returned to the Oval Office for the first time since he was diagnosed and hospitalized with COVID-19 on Oct. 2.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
