Vice President Kamala Harris spent more than former President Donald J. Trump at a ratio of 20 to 1 on Facebook and Instagram during the week of the debate between the two candidates for the presidency of the United States, taking advantage of the moment to flood the ‘swing states’ with ads and hunt for new donors across the country, reported a piece from The New York Times.
The spending – $12.2 million to $611,228 on Meta’s platforms, according to company records – was not atypical. Since entering the race, the Democrat’s campaign has been overwhelming Trump’s with a deluge of digital advertising, spending tens of millions of dollars more than his.
Four years ago, Trump, then occupying the White House, spent drastically more than the Democrats on online ads early in the election cycle in hopes of gaining an advantage. Now, the Republican candidate, who is facing a cash deficit, is shifting focus.
Trump’s campaign has spent much more on Google, especially on YouTube ads that can closely resemble traditional television. (Google owns YouTube.) But even on Google, an analysis by the New York Times of advertising records in the seven major ‘swing states’ shows that Harris’s political committees have doubled Trump’s spending, from $12.8 million to $25.7 million, since she entered the race.
In this election strategy, Trump has been courting the digitally-minded audience in other ways, stopping by a bitcoin bar in New York this week; chatting with YouTube stars, streamers, and podcasters; joining TikTok; and even creating his own social platform, Truth Social. But his comparatively lighter digital presence may mean he struggles to reach potential supporters.
Social media has become an important battleground for political campaigns, both as a fundraising source and as a place to attract younger and undecided voters who do not rely on television for news. And in a tight election, being able to motivate and turn out less engaged but persuadable voters online can make a difference. The gap in digital spending is fueling some Democratic optimism for November, even as polls show an ultra-competitive race.
Source: The New York Times