Democratic ad spotlights ‘exploding’ coronavirus, President Trump’s China capitulation
Joe Biden ad hits Trump on coronavirus, China.

Trump Xi
Each campaign is now playing the China card.

A thirty second ad launched Tuesday by the Democratic National Committee hits President Donald Trump on coronavirus failings, framing it in a larger capitulation to China.

The spot accentuates one area of vulnerability for the President, a botched response to COVID-19, while countering Trump’s claims that Joe Biden is compromised with regard to Beijing by saying the President has his own China problem.

The “DNC War Room,” in an email to media Tuesday, outlined the narrative: “The Trump campaign is running ads about being tough on China, but Trump’s failure to promptly address coronavirus, lest he upset China, is maybe the most disastrous example of a President getting played by a foreign country, leading to a total catastrophe at home.”

Meanwhile, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez, echoing the ad’s themes and narrative, lamented the coronacrisis “didn’t have to be this bad.”

“More than 125,000 deaths, 20 million jobs lost, and the worst recession in generations. It didn’t have to be this bad. Trump ignored warnings, downplayed the crisis, and put his joke of a trade deal ahead of the American people. Now we’re paying the price,” Perez said. “He put himself and his political fortunes first, and the health and well-being of the American people last.”

The spot comes at a time when Biden is leading according to most polls, with swing voters breaking to the candidate as he works to make up a long-standing and sizable fundraising gap.

At least in May, Biden had the momentum.

Biden raised $80.8 million between his campaign and the Democratic National Committee, while President Donald Trump raised $74 million between his campaign, the Republican National Committee, and what a media release Saturday billed as “authorized joint fundraising committees.”

Despite Biden’s May cash advantage, the Trump campaign projects confidence, citing a “record” haul in the month and noting a sizable cash on hand advantage that the former Vice President and United States Senator from Delaware has yet to substantially erode.

Trump’s campaign says that “with $265 million cash on hand, [t]he Republican war chest continues to dwarf that of Joe Biden and the Democrats. The latest data available for the Biden campaign shows a cash on hand sum of just $100 million.”

With both Trump and Biden seeing the other as vulnerable on the China question, expect more money on both sides to push respective narratives. Will they cancel each other out?

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. His work also can be seen in the Washington Post, the New York Post, the Washington Times, and National Review, among other publications. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


One comment

  • Sonja Fitch

    June 30, 2020 at 10:36 am

    Trump is a damn Putin loving traitor ! Trump is for trump! And Trump only! Stop the RNC from meeting in Jacksonville a proud military town. Looting Lenny stop the RNC from spoiling our town with the goptrump cult sociopath racist sexist lying TRAITOR!

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