Biden planning $50M July ad blitz and more travel

Elena Schneider
·2 min read
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Joe Biden’s campaign is dropping another $50 million ad buy this month as the president tries to get his struggling campaign back on track.

The president’s team announced on Friday that it would be layering more spending on top of the $50 million it has already spent on ads in June. The campaign also rolled out more details on its canvassing program, as they plan to knock on 3 million doors over the next two months. They also said Biden will headline NAACP and UnidosUS conferences in Las Vegas, which will serve as his counter-programming during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in mid-July.

The hefty ad buy and additional travel comes at a perilous moment for Biden, as the president seeks to calm nervous party leaders and to reconnect with frustrated voters. Biden’s poor performance at last week’s debate set off a wave of panic within the party, as at least three sitting House Democratic lawmakers called for him to step aside. Public polls following last week’s debate shows former President Donald Trump gaining several percentage points over Biden, particularly among men.

Biden mounted a fresh effort to save his flagging campaign this week, calling into an all-staff campaign meeting and reaching out to senior congressional leaders. He met with more than 20 Democratic governors Wednesday night, promising that he was “in it to win it,” even as he acknowledged that he needed to work on his messaging to voters. And, most importantly, he’ll sit down for an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Friday.

The memo, released on Friday morning, pledged that Biden is “expected to engage in frequent off-the-cuff moments over the course of the month, as he has consistently throughout this campaign.” These unscripted moments have taken on even importance, since the president often relies heavily on teleprompters during his events, both public and private.

The campaign’s ads will target several high viewership events, including the Summer Olympics Games and the Republican National Convention. And its canvassing program will get an additional $17 million to strengthen its on-the-ground footprint in battleground states.