The Trump re-election campaign has slashed television ad spending in key Midwest states, BuzzFeed News reports. President Trump has been absent from local airwaves in Iowa and Ohio, and the campaign has reportedly given up at least $2 million worth of reservations in Michigan and Wisconsin since early September, while also reducing its projected fall TV budget in Minnesota by $5 million.
Because all of those states are so important to the upcoming presidential election, Ohio-based Republican ad maker Nicholas Everhart told BuzzFeed "there's no reason why [Trump] would not be wanting to be on the air in those states, particularly Ohio," despite the campaign's insistence that the retreat is actually a sign of strength. Everhart, and others, believe there are "clearly ... some unpleasant financial realities impacting the strategic decisions they are making."
The Trump campaign has continued to dismiss such speculation, even as the president's Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, ramps up spending, arguing the incumbent will be "celebrating victory while Biden binge watches his TV ads from his basement." Read more at BuzzFeed News.
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