Oct 19, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Trump campaign announces $55 million ad buy in final two weeks

Orion Rummler

Trump holds a MAGA hat — President Trump holds up a MAGA hat in Des Moines, Iowa on Oct. 14. Photo: Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images

The Trump campaign and Republican National Committee plan to spend an additional $55 million on coordinated ad buys in the remaining two weeks of the 2020 election, campaign manager Bill Stepien told reporters on a Monday call.

What to watch: The campaign and the RNC will jointly target Arizona, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Michigan — all considered critical swing states. RNC chair Ronna McDaniel told reporters on a Monday call that one ad would target Joe Biden's health care plan.

The state of play: Axios' Jonathan Swan reported last week that three senior Trump advisers who recently talked to Stepien walked away believing he thinks they will lose.

Despite his pessimistic tone in private conversations, Stepien told reporters on Monday that he is "certain" that President Trump will win Florida, Ohio, Iowa and Nevada.
"I don't agree with the Biden campaign about very much, but I do agree with their assertion that this is a close race," Stepien said, referencing a memo on the state of the race by Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon.

Go deeper: Democrats are destroying Republicans in a "green tsunami" of fundraising

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Trump campaign announces $55 million ad buy in final two weeks

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