President Donald Trump’s plan for a surge in attack ads targeting former Vice President Joe Biden ahead of the general election has been called off because of the coronavirus outbreak.
According to Politico, Trump and his top political advisers had planned to follow the strategy used by former President Barack Obama in his 2012 reelection campaign, when he targeted then-Republican nominee Mitt Romney before he could solidify his GOP support following the primary season. However, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to those plans with less than eight months before Election Day.
“With Biden running away with it now, this would have been a good time to define him right off the bat. But it won't break through now, nor would it look good,” said former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, who served under former President George W. Bush. “This hiatus in many ways helps Biden.”
Club for Growth President David McIntosh, a pro-Trump political group that has aired several ads supporting the president, told Politico that his organization has ceased their involvement in the election for the time being.
“The response to the coronavirus has pushed the whole election off the front page,” McIntosh said, “and it will restart and re-adjust once the immediate crisis is over.”
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich added that there’s “plenty of time for Biden later,” and said that “the Trump team should focus on communicating about the virus and the economy,” saying that “if President Trump manages the pandemic well and gets the economy restarted he gets re-elected.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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