Donald Trump’s political operatives are funding a multi-million-dollar advertising onslaught in an expensive attempt to avoid disaster at the midterm elections.
Trump, 80, staged a Republican convention last week in Dallas, Texas, amid his personal popularity tanking. A new poll by the New York Times confirmed he is becoming toxic to the Republican Party ahead of the critical elections.
The senior president is desperate to keep control of Congress for his final two years in office, and last week even resorted to offering a $5,000 cash bribe to voters if Republicans hold onto power in the House and the Senate.
The latest Republican weapon against surging Democratic candidates is a bombardment of advertising totaling nearly $138 million, stockpiled over the last 10 days.
One new super PAC linked to Trump’s own MAGA Inc., titled No Going Back PAC Inc., has spent a hefty $95 million on ads, as reported by the New York Times.
Another new super PAC, Safety and Affordability PAC Inc., is dropping $27 million on ads to promote Republican candidates ahead of the midterms. The group is also backed by MAGA Inc., two people with knowledge of the matter who spoke to the Times anonymously said.
The group is yet to begin its advertising spend, according to the report, adding that the paperwork for No Going Back and Safety and Affordability was filed with the Federal Election Commission just six minutes apart by the same treasurer.
No Going Back PAC, which registered with the FEC on September 1, also shares an address and phone number with MAGA Inc., according to CNBC.
Collectively, the three political action committees are expected to spend $138 million in around 50 election races, the most outside of super PACs tied to congressional leadership, according to the Times, citing data from media tracking firm AdImpact. The highest spends are in Senate battles in Ohio, Michigan and Alaska.
The Safety and Affordability PAC has booked ads in 15 races focusing on House Republicans, while No Going Back PAC has assigned the bulk of its advertising to Senate races, according to the Times. MAGA Inc. has booked $9 million worth of ads, purely for the Texas Senate race between Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton and rising Democratic star James Talarico.
FEC records also reveal the super PACs have shelled out around $6.5 million on direct-mail campaigning and around $80,000 on text messages.
No Going Back PAC’s Senate spending includes nearly $6.7 million to go against Democrat Sherrod Brown in Ohio, a further $3.8 million against Trump-foe Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, $2.9 million against Roy Cooper in North Carolina and $1.8 million against Chris Pappas in New Hampshire, according to CNBC. So far, only around $780,000 has been funded to fight Jon Ossoff in Georgia.
Trump has previously bragged about his super PAC war chest.
“I think I have like close to a billion dollars in the super PAC, and I’m allocating probably $400 or $500 million,” Trump said on September 4. “We’re going to spend a lot of money because we don’t want to lose our country.”
According to a FEC filing, MAGA Inc. had around $403.5 million in cash on hand as of July 31.
The president has already told his supporters to vote like he is on the ticket, with early advertisements dominated by his image and rhetoric. One ad ends with the line, “He’s fighting for you every day. Help him finish the job.”
When CNN’s Kaitlan Collins aired the advertisement earlier this month, she stated “You might be forgiven for thinking the president himself is on the ballot.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
