Donald Trump Campaign to Air First Television Ads
— -- Donald Trump's campaign has lined up its first advertisements of the general election cycle, spending almost $5 million to target battleground states as they race to catch Hillary Clinton in the polls.
The ad buys total $4.9 million for 10 days of commercials beginning Friday, with almost half of the money devoted to placing spots in Florida and Pennsylvania.
Trump's first ad of the general election, "Two Americas: Immigration," argues that Clinton's policies will lead to an influx of refugees and illegal immigrants convicted of crimes.
"In Hillary Clinton’s America, the system stays rigged against Americans. Syrian refugees flood in. Illegal immigrants convicted of committing crimes get to stay," the ad says.
The ad goes on to argue, "Donald Trump’s America is secure. Terrorists and dangerous criminals: kept out. The border: secured. Our families: safe."
Clinton's press secretary, Brian Fallon, took to Twitter to criticize the ad, saying that it served as proof Trump doesn't actually feel regret about his campaign rhetoric, despite the claim at a speech in Charlotte on Thursday that he does.
The ad buys still pale in comparison to the more than $60 million that the Democratic nominee has spent so far this cycle.
On the campaign trail, Trump regularly comments about how little he has spent compared to Clinton and openly questions the value of advertisements.
"You know, I go around, I make speeches. I talk to reporters," Trump said at a rally in Maine in June. "I don’t even need commercials, if you want to know the truth. Why do I need these commercials?"
In addition to the outlay of $1.4 million in Florida and $1 million in Pennsylvania, the campaign will buy $831,000 worth of ads in North Carolina and $746,000 in Ohio, with an additional $1 million in cable buys yet to be publicly designated for a particular state, according to CMAG/Kantar Media.
The latest polling shows Trump trailing Clinton in all four of the states in which he will air advertisements. Pennsylvania, in particular, gives Clinton a double-digit edge, according to the most recent NBC/Wall Street Journal/Marist and Quinnipiac polls from the state.
Prior to the purchase, Trump was featured only in advertisements paid for by organizations supporting his candidacy. The NRA and two outside super PACs have spent more than $10 million on ads backing Trump.
A PAC backing Clinton, Priorities USA Action, has bought $37 million worth of ads for the former secretary of state.
ABC News’ Ryan Struyk contributed to this report.
