Michael Bloomberg to launch R1.4bn digital anti-Trump campaign in four US states

President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Bossier City, La., Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. Picture: Gerald Herbert/AP

President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Bossier City, La., Thursday, Nov. 14, 2019. Picture: Gerald Herbert/AP

Published Nov 15, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON - Michael Bloomberg, the

billionaire media mogul who continues to weigh a run for the

Democratic nomination for president, will launch a R1 470 735 000 ($100 million) online ad campaign targeting Republican President Donald Trump,

an advisor confirmed.

Bloomberg has not said whether he will run for president,

but has qualified as a candidate to appear on the primary

ballots of two states. The moderate former mayor of New York

City would have a tough fight to win the primary that began in

earnest in the spring and has allowed possible rivals to

campaign for months already.

The online advertisements Bloomberg is funding, which have

not yet run but are slated to begin Friday, will target four

states: Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The

advertisements are slated to run through the primary season,

regardless of whether Bloomberg decides to run for president,

the aide confirmed. The details were first reported by The New

York Times.

Those four states are considered some of the closest and

most hotly contested in the primary contest. Trump won all four

in 2016, but public opinion polls have shown that he is

vulnerable there in the 2020 election when he will stand for

reelection.

Bloomberg pumped millions of his own dollars in the 2018

midterm elections to help Democrats across the country.

The crowded field of Democrats vying for president has

largely been focused on the primary contest. Should Bloomberg

run, he would join the crowded field, entering tied for fifth

place.

Bloomberg's public flirtation with a run, after saying in

March that he would not seek the nomination, came days before

former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced his late

entry into the Democratic field.

Democrats have grown increasingly concerned that while their

party try to sort out their primary and pick a nominee, Trump

will be able to gain ground in contested general election

states. The president's reelection campaign has started spending

heavily in online advertising, using the war chest he has

already begun to amass to target general election voters.

Bloomberg's ad buy could serve as a buffer, an effort to

offset Trump's advantage.

Reuters

Related Topics:

Donald Trump