Progressive Group Releases New Ad Blasting Trump on Coronavirus in Michigan, Wisconsin

Progressive group American Bridge is escalating its attack against President Donald Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic with new digital efforts in Wisconsin and Michigan, two critical general election battlegrounds, according to details shared exclusively with The Daily Beast.  

In Wisconsin, the Democratic super PAC is releasing a five-figure digital ad buy targeting “potential Trump defectors” as well as undecided voters across the state. The 35-second spot, titled “Trump Failed Wisconsin,” highlights aggregated local news coverage of Trump’s handling of the public health crisis on the ground. 

The ad comes as a tense situation plays out in Wisconsin over the state’s planned April 7 primary, where Democratic health fears involving the election are apparent. It also comes as Democrats broadly continue to condemn the president’s daily response to the virus. At one point in the ad, Trump’s voice appears in the background with quoted text that reads, “I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators.”

“Nearly 10 million are unemployed and thousands are dead because Donald Trump failed to take this crisis seriously from the moment he was warned,” American Bridge President Bradley Beychok told The Daily Beast. “He failed to listen to experts, he spread disinformation, and still refuses to craft a national response to this virus with lives on the line.” 

In Michigan, the group is launching a direct-to-voter text messaging campaign, timed to Trump’s daily press briefing on Friday and aimed at swing voters. American Bridge previously ran ads in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania criticizing Trump’s response to Covid-19.

“Trump has made this pandemic worse, and we are taking that message directly to Americans. He must be held accountable,” Beychok said.