In the words of Barack Obama when speaking about Joe Biden, “Never underestimate his ability to f**k things up.” Joe did that on June 27 during his first debate with Donald Trump. The former president dog walked Biden by beating him handily among viewers and sparking a total panic within the Democratic Party.
A vocal contingent wants Biden dumped but doesn’t know how to go about it. It’s not like this happens often in a tight presidential race, but Donald Trump could take a break. The media attention was laser-focused on Biden’s mental decline. This story was worth an aggressive reporting effort if the establishment press did its job instead of holding its fire out of fear of either losing access or looking like it’s helping Trump. The Democrats were doing Trump’s work for him: tearing down the president.
With the Republican National Convention about to kick off, the former president needed to get back on the trail, which he did by hosting a rally in Doral, Florida. Even now, the circus engulfing the Democratic Party continues, as Democrats are still looking for a way to get Biden to quit. Amid this chaos, Trump and the GOP are plotting a way to deliver a knockout blow to the president. It’ll come in a $60 million ad blitz in three key swing states during the Summer Olympics (via Politico):
Donald Trump’s allies are moving to capitalize on Joe Biden’s stumbles.
A big-spending super PAC linked to Republican mega-donor Miriam Adelson is set to spend $61 million on TV and digital ads attacking Biden, as the besieged president faces calls from within his own party to step aside following his disastrous debate performance.
Preserve America will begin airing commercials later this month, timed to coincide with the start of the Summer Olympics, which is expected to draw massive viewership, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans who was granted anonymity to discuss the matter. The ads, which will run through Labor Day, will air in three Rust Belt battleground states — Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Word of the major advertising blitz comes as Trump is expected to step up his attacks on Biden this week. Trump is slated to hold a rally at his Doral, Florida golf on Tuesday and another rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania on Saturday. He is also scheduled to make an appearance on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show on Monday evening — his first major interview since the debate.
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The commercials will focus on immigration, national security and the economy.
WATCH: “Biden doesn't lead in a single one of these polls” — MSNBC data guru on Trump’s surge in post-debate polls pic.twitter.com/vh4V9QeROa
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) July 10, 2024
Wisconsin is the only state where Biden has kept things close with Trump, but Pennsylvania is the state most likely to flip. Post-debate, Trump reportedly increased his lead over Biden here by four to ten points. Given how the map is shaping, not only does Trump have a clearer path to 270—he’ll shatter that sucker if he wins Pennsylvania. Biden must sweep these states.
As things look now, Trump is poised for a landslide win over the president. While Trump hasn’t been able to corral Biden’s 2020 supporters into his camp, he has been successful in getting them to stay home. Amy Walter of Cook Political Report noted the voter enthusiasm gap with Democrats, which was exacerbated by Biden’s disastrous debate.
Literally zero swing voters in my focus group during the Trump vs. Biden debate said they're more likely to vote for Biden after what they saw.
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) July 9, 2024
And most of them voted for Biden in 2020.
You can watch the entire session on @StraightArrow__ now: https://t.co/b5fmRNWIOf
Will these ads keep Democrats depressed? That’s the key right now. And if you’re a party loyalist, I’d be downing Maalox and hitting the anti-depressants hard right now. Even if Biden leaves, Trump beats all the alternatives, including Harris, who isn’t a better candidate, though the only one who could inherit the president’s war chest.
I don’t know if this will be the haymaker Trump and his allies intend, but it’s a good plan of attack for when things ramp up.