Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has been out of the running for president since March, but he's still managed to inspire more negative political ads than Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. That disparity isn't so much a commentary on Rubio, though, as it is on the striking lack of negative presidential ads Clinton has faced so far this election, Politico noted: Just about a month after Donald Trump clinched the Republican presidential nomination, "some current Senate candidates have actually faced a bigger barrage of negative ads in their states than Clinton has nationwide."
Even if Trump is going about his campaign in a decidedly unconventional way, Republican strategists contend that his lack of interest in paid attack ads is a definite missed opportunity. "Failing to define a candidate allows them to compete for votes that they have no business competing for down the stretch in a campaign," Josh Holmes, a top Republican strategist, told Politico. "In particular, the failure to define Hillary Clinton with key demographics that are absolutely necessary to win the election is beyond malpractice."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Political cartoons for February 8Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include going down the drain, American history, and more
-
Touring the vineyards of southern BoliviaThe Week Recommends Strongly reminiscent of Andalusia, these vineyards cut deep into the country’s southwest
-
American empire: a history of US imperial expansionDonald Trump’s 21st century take on the Monroe Doctrine harks back to an earlier era of US interference in Latin America
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
