Former President Donald Trump has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into ad spending on social media platforms, far outspending his top primary challengers as he seeks to capitalize on the news coverage surrounding his criminal indictment.
Trump significantly ramped up advertising on sites such as Facebook and Google in the weeks leading up to his indictment, spending roughly $258,000 between March 19 and April 7, according to data collected by Bully Pulpit Interactive. That’s a significant increase from the $8,000 spent in the three weeks preceding that time period.
TRUMP USES VIDEO FROM ARRAIGNMENT IN CAMPAIGN AD, SAYS ONLY CRIME IS ‘DEFENDING NATION’
The ad spending puts Trump far ahead of likely rival Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not yet announced a presidential bid but has poured much of his own spending into fundraising ads. Trump has also outspent Republican candidate Nikki Haley, who has focused much of her ads on raising money ahead of key deadlines set by the Federal Election Commission.
Trump’s ads come as the former president has gradually made his return to top social media platforms, with most of the missives being purchased by his political action committee rather than his personal accounts. Trump made his grand return to Facebook and YouTube in mid-March after being barred from the platforms for two years following the Jan. 6 riot.
A majority of the ads being bought by Trump push for donations to the former president’s campaign, with several using his criminal indictment and a fake mug shot to encourage donations. Trump has sought to use his possible criminal charges as campaign fodder, using footage from his arraignment in a series of political ads that were released last week.
In a 56-second ad released on Thursday, the Manhattan court building where Trump was arraigned earlier this week is shown as a backdrop while several conservative commentators speak over the video to denounce the criminal charges. Trump is then seen walking through the crowd to enter the courthouse as the former president maintains his innocence in the ad’s voice-over.
“The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it,” he says in the ad. “And now, these radical Left lunatics want to interfere with our elections by using law enforcement.”
Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan announced the felony charges during Trump’s initial court appearance earlier this month, charging the president on 34 counts with falsifying business records. The indictment marks the first time in U.S. history a former president has been criminally charged. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts.
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In the court documents, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg accused Trump of orchestrating a “catch and kill” scheme during the 2016 presidential cycle to identify negative stories about him and pay large sums of money to bury them from public view. After making such payments, Trump is accused of hiding such conduct by making “dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws.”
Trump has vehemently denied the charges, decrying them as being baseless and politically motivated. Trump is scheduled to reappear for his next hearing on Dec. 4. The trial is not expected to begin until January.