The Republican National Committee (RNC) is launching an over $1 million digital ad campaign lauding President Donald Trump for his coronavirus response efforts.
The preview of the ad, which focuses on Trump’s bipartisan response, was unveiled on Thursday.
The 20-second clip highlights comments from California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) applauding specific leadership qualities they believe Trump has exhibited amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The clip ends with a photo of Trump encouraging Americans to learn more about Trump’s campaign.
The RNC’s digital ad effort is scheduled to launch on Monday and run through May 4. With Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) out of the presidential race, Trump is now targeting independent and moderate Democratic voters.
RNC chief of staff Richard Walters also released a statement with details about the targeted ad campaigns, noting that the goal is to capture the attention of voters while they are at home amid the coronavirus outbreak.
“Our latest ad buy further fuels our robust digital presence as we continue to meet voters where they are right now – online and in their homes,” Walters said. “The American people have seen President Trump respond to this crisis with unprecedented leadership, and they will respond with their votes in November.”
The RNC’s praise of Trump comes amid heightened criticism he has received. On Wednesday, Democratic Strategist James Carville and former RNC Chairman Michael Steele weighed in with their opinions of Trump’s coronavirus response efforts.
Although Trump’s campaign manager predicts the president will “destroy” former Vice President Joe Biden in November, Carville believes the election could be a “Democratic wipeout” based on approval ratings of past presidents and leaders amid a crisis.
“I am totally, totally unimpressed by President Trump’s political powers,” Carville said on MSNBC.
“I have absolutely no fear. What I do fear of… is what you had in Wisconsin where they try to muck with the election and stop people from voting. But, if we go to post in November with anything close to a level playing field, it’s going to be a Democratic wipeout. People are not going to vote for four more years of this.”
Steele raised concerns about Trump’s alleged pattern of blaming others “every week” for the United States’ coronavirus response. He questioned whether or not the president’s criticism of the World Health Organization would be enough to steer the negative light away from his administration.
“This virus doesn’t recognize red or blue. It doesn’t respect state lines, it doesn’t respect states that have stay-at-home orders versus those who don’t. How does this affect the Donald Trump base and is it going to be enough for his base to hear him say the World Health Organization made the wrong call?”
Michael Steele, former RNC Chairman
“Every week, there’s a new villain that can be propped up to go after and to castigate for the shortcomings and the problems and the failures that are in the narrative this particular week,” Steele said.
See Carville’s remarks below:
“I’m totally totally unimpressed by President’s Trump political powers… But if we go to post in November with anything close to a level playing field, it’s going to be a Democratic wipeout. People are not going to vote for four more years of this” pic.twitter.com/5lGPouVVTu
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 9, 2020
Trump will likely face Biden — the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee — in November’s general election.
