There have been two recent high-profile fundraisers for the Biden campaign. The first fundraiser, held in April in New York City, raised $26 million, while the most recent one, held last week in Los Angeles, raised $28 million.
The Biden campaign referred to these fundraising totals as enormous, although they were much less than the $53 million that Donald Trump raised in the first 24 hours following the bogus verdict in New York City at the end of May, and they were much lower than the latter’s fundraiser in Florida in May.
Heck, Trump’s campaign and affiliated organizations have raised over $420 million since the verdict, wiping out Biden’s earlier-year financial edge.
From having a financial advantage to not even being in the same league as Trump when it comes to fundraising, the Biden campaign now plans to spend the majority of the proceeds from the events in New York City and Los Angeles on an ineffective advertisement.
Axios reports that the Biden team is starting an advertising campaign in each of the swing states in an effort to turn Donald Trump’s recent felony conviction into a major campaign issue in 2024.
The $50 million ad buy, which is part of a larger June expenditure, will focus on important voting demographics that Biden is trying to retain this year, including Asian American, Black, and Hispanic voters.
This strategy denotes a dramatic shift in the dynamics of the race, depending on voters’ disapproval of Trump’s personality and past legal troubles to determine which of the two candidates they will support.
Why is it a financial waste? Many people believe that the trials are politically motivated, and the public doesn’t actually care about them. Hence, Biden’s chances of winning have not improved despite Trump’s very visible trials and verdicts.
The advertisement makes the widely-used claim that Biden has reduced healthcare costs and demands that corporations pay their fair share, but it offers no supporting data or citations. These are not exactly the messages that appeal to the typical voter, and based on BLS data, good luck persuading folks that healthcare expenses have decreased when they have been rising. What, therefore, does the campaign hope this advertisement will accomplish for them? It is challenging to convince people that things are better when they aren’t. They have already formed opinions about the verdict.
Earlier this month, pollster Frank Luntz stated that the presidential debates will hold greater significance and that the decision will “not dramatically affect the results at this juncture.”
Michael Tyler, the Biden-Harris 2024 communications director, told Axios that “Trump approaches the first debate as a felon who will do anything and injure anyone if it means greater power and revenge for Donald Trump.”
The advertisement contains no new content that Biden hasn’t already tried out during the campaign, but Biden’s team believes that when voters consider the possibility of Trump winning the presidency again, they will start to lean more in Biden’s favor.
Axios points out that, thus far, their attempts haven’t been successful. They have been airing TV commercials since Labor Day, but their efforts have not had a major impact on how the public views the candidates or the campaign.
If the Biden campaign takes that approach, I’m fine with it. They’re wasting money, that’s all. Ultimately, the issue with Biden’s approach is that he is relying more on criticizing Trump than his own track record. Of course, there’s not much to brag about when your record is as impressive as Joe Biden’s.
Author: Blake Ambrose
