Even though former President Donald Trump is trailing Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign in fundraising, his staffers are spending tens of thousands of dollars on ads that will have effectively no impact on the race.
On Tuesday, the Bulwark — an anti-Trump conservative outlet — reported that an unnamed "campaign insider" confided to them that they're spending upwards of $50,000 on promoting the ex-president's campaign in and around Palm Beach County, Florida. The staffer admitted that they are "at some risk of incurring [Trump's] wrath" if the former president doesn't personally see his campaign ads while watching TV.
“This is more about keeping the donors happy than the principal. There’s a lot of donors in Palm Beach,” the Bulwark's source said. “If spending $50k gets us $5 million, that’s good ROI. If it makes the boss happy, too, then good.”
The ads are notably running in the same county that houses Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. The source said the campaign bought time on CNN, CNBC, Fox Business and Fox News for the 15-second spot. The Daily Beast reported that the actual content of the ad has not yet been disclosed.
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While Palm Beach County itself is solidly Democratic (the county went for President Joe Biden over Trump by a 56-43 margin in 2020) Florida itself is considered safe Republican territory, reelecting Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) by healthy margins in 2022. In the counties making up the Palm Beach media market — where the 15-second ad is running — Trump lost to Biden by roughly four points.
Trump's campaign running ads in his home county is welcome news for Florida Democrats, who are hoping to flip the state blue for the first time since the 2012 election, when former President Barack Obama won the Sunshine State by less than 80,000 total votes. Consultant Kevin Cate — who worked for Obama — tweeted earlier this week that if Trump spends money on trying to keep his bright-red adopted home state, it would be a welcome omen for the Democratic ticket.
"I think Trump spends first TV dollars in Florida (for his ego and against his team’s advice)," he wrote. "And that’s how you’ll know we’re in landslide territory."
The Bulwark's characterization of Florida as a safe Republican state may not be completely on target, according to the latest polls. According to an August survey from Public Policy Polling, former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Florida) is within the margin of error in her race against Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida). This is a drastic change from June – when Biden was still the presumptive Democratic nominee — in which a poll by the Tyson Group found Scott 13 points ahead.
Harris is also narrowing the gap with Trump in Florida. That same pollster found Harris just four points behind Trump, whereas the last poll with Biden still in the race showed the Democratic ticket down by seven points. One Florida pollster in late July told Newsweek that Trump may be at his ceiling in the Sunshine State, and Harris may be at her floor.
Click here to read the Bulwark's full report.
