President Donald Trump’s campaign is spending heavily on advertisements focused on criminal justice reform amidst ongoing nationwide riots and protests, Axios reported.
The campaign spent $6 million on Facebook ads about criminal justice reform, the most money spent on any topic, according to Axios. $4.8 million was spent on ads about defunding the police, $4.7 million on fake news, $4.6 million on socialism, and $2.3 million on immigration. (RELATED: Twitter, Facebook Hit Trump Campaign Over Post Suggesting Children Are ‘Almost Immune’ From Coronavirus)
Nationwide protests and riots erupted around the country following the May 25 death of George Floyd, with some protesters demanding a variety of reforms including defunding the police. The Trump campaign spent less than $50,000 on ads related to criminal justice before the demonstrations began, Axios reported.
As unrest continued for several months, the Trump campaign focused their spending on criminal justice and opposing defunding the police, a move to position the president as the “law and order” candidate.
The campaign is also tapping into voters’ concerns about violent crime. An August 13 Pew Research Center poll found that violent crime was the fifth most important issue for voters, with 59% of respondents saying that the issue was “very important.” Violent crime was nearly as important to voters as the coronavirus pandemic, which 62% of voters said was important. (RELATED: Biden Says He Would ‘Shut’ The Country ‘Down’ If Scientists Recommend New Lockdown Measures To Fight Coronavirus)
“A new Pew survey found that violent crime is now the fifth-most important issue for votes, with 59% listing it as ‘very important’ to their vote. For context, it’s nearly as important to Americans as the coronavirus, which ranks fourth with 63%”https://t.co/25M33A3GVy
— Josh Kraushaar (@HotlineJosh) August 24, 2020
The top 3 issues for voters were the economy, health care, and Supreme Court appointments, respectively, according to the Pew Research poll.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign spent the most money on Facebook ads about coronavirus. In total, $921,000 was spent on coronavirus-related ads between the two campaigns. The Biden campaign also outspent Trump on ads related to big tech, dark money, college affordability, and climate.
Overall, the Trump campaign has far outspent Biden’s on Facebook ads – the president’s campaign has spent around $45 million, while Biden’s campaign has spent around $24 million.