1:47
- ABC News
- January 4, 2016
What Donald Trump’s First Television Ad Means
Trump’s first TV ad highlights the core positions of his 2016 bid.
1:47
Republican primary voters across the country name national security and foreign policy as two of the most important issues of the 2016 election.
Jamieson says the national news coverage of the ad is more likely to make an impact than the actual ad buy itself. \"He’s basically getting another news cycle out of this,\" she said.
“It’s going to link evocative visuals with a familiar message,” she said. \"He’s showing visuals of people presumably crossing the border to his claim about building a wall. If he now continues to say, 'I’m going to build a wall,' he's already gotten all the news he’s gotten. Now he’s attached pictures to it.\"
Trump has spent very little of his own money on his campaign, although other campaigns and outside groups have spent tens of millions of dollars so far.
\"The biggest story has been the dog that hasn’t barked,\" said Goldstein. \"It’s Jan. 4 and this is the first time we’re talking about a Trump ad.\"
But Goldstein said the ad may shed more light on Trump's strategy than the content of the spot.
\"Sometimes we think too much. I think he sort of figured, 'It’s 30 days now [until the Iowa caucuses]. I should probably air an ad,'\" Goldstein said. \"Let’s see what ad No. 2 is. That will be a big tell on how confident they are or whether they are nervous about other people.\"
It’s not clear whether this $4 million TV ad was paid by Trump personally or from donors. Trump had raised roughly $4 million from donors since he announced his candidacy. Campaign fundraising numbers from the last three months haven’t yet been released.
The ad has drawn criticism from Democrats. “Donald Trump’s new ad is more of the same disgusting and offensive demagoguery we’ve come to expect from the GOP front-runner,” said Justin Barasky, communications director at the pro-Hillary Clinton Super PAC Priorities USA.
Trump leads most national polls by double-digit margins but remains locked in a close battle with Ted Cruz in the crucial state of Iowa. The real estate mogul plans to drop roughly $1 million per week for the next month for television ads in the Hawkeye State.
He will also drop similar money in New Hampshire, where a victory for his campaign is critical. A Boston Herald/Franklin Pierce University poll in the Granite State in mid-December showed Trump with 26 percent support of state Republicans, compared to 12 percent Marco Rubio and Cruz.
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