In defense of the Donald

Online and off, Trump’s GOP rivals are racing to defend his criminality

Donald Trump was indicted this week on federal charges relating to the January 6th insurrection and his efforts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election. He now faces 78 felony counts for crimes ranging from paying off a porn star to stealing classified documents to trying to stage a coup. 

One would think that the former President’s rivals on the campaign trail would be eager to use their opponent’s legal troubles as a bludgeon with which to attack the front-runner. Instead, several of his opponents are falling over themselves to defend Trump against the myriad charges he faces and are attempting to burn down the entire American legal system in the process. We’ll break that down + more in this week’s FWIW. But first…

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By the numbers

FWIW, political advertisers spent just over $9.4 million on Facebook and Instagram ads last week. These were the top ten spenders nationwide:

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez – who is currently polling at 0% – along with his Super PAC, SOS America, has been spending heavily on Facebook and Instagram ads in recent weeks. Last week, his team launched several ads that attempt to troll Joe Biden and make fun of the President’s age.

The ACLU was back among the top Facebook and Instagram ad spenders last week, running ads nationwide that push back against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for classroom censorship, Texas Governor Greg Abbott for his anti-immigrant policies, and – interestingly – President Joe Biden for supporting FISA Section 702, which allows the government to access the digital communication data of non-Americans.

And following his *third* indictment this past Tuesday, Donald Trump started running ads nationwide on Facebook in an attempt to make this latest legal crisis a cash cow for his campaign. He’s done this following each major indictment and has been successful in raising money with this strategy in the past. 

Meanwhile, political campaigns spent $1.2 million on Google and YouTube ads last week. Here were the top ten spenders nationwide:

The Ohio special election on Issue 1 (which would raise the voting threshold to pass a constitutional amendment to 60%) is less than a week away. This has become an exceptionally contested issue because if Issue 1 passes, it would be very difficult for Ohio to pass a constitutional amendment to protect abortion access. With stakes this high, a group called One Person One Vote put a whopping $150,000 into Google and YouTube ads across Ohio this week, calling for people to vote no on Issue 1. 

 Kentucky Values, a PAC run by the Republican Governors Association in an effort to unseat Governor Andy Beshear in Kentucky, spent over $30,000 on ads this week that attack Beshear for supporting trans rights and abortion rights for minors.

…and on Snapchat, political campaigns and organizations in the United States have spent around $1.5 million on advertising in 2023. Here are the top ten spenders YTD:

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Your 2024 digital dispatch

FWIW, here’s how much money likely or confirmed 2024 presidential candidates have spent on Facebook + Google ads to date (1/1 - 7/29):

• Joe Biden is hawking his campaign’s “Dark Brandon” merch online

• Francis Suarez & his affiliated super PAC spent more than twice as much on digital ads as his GOP rivals last week

• Asa Hutchinson is halfway to making the 40,000 donor threshold to make this month’s GOP debate. The RNC has tightened the rules for candidates to make the stage for the second GOP debate in September

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From around the internet

• Forget the AI election or the Podcast election or BlueSky election (or whatever), Max Tani at Semafor wrote an excellent piece on why 2024 will be the “fragmentation election.” It’s a must-read>>

• There were a few stories published this week about the decline in grassroots fundraising for campaigns on both sides of the political spectrum. POLITICO says it’s getting tough for Democrats, and Trump is also taking a hit. 

• Meanwhile, NBC has an analysis of zipcodes showing where specific GOP 2024 candidates are making headway with grassroots donors.

• Third time’s the charm? Dan Pfeiffer breaks down how Trump’s third indictment probably won’t affect his base but will make it much harder for anyone else to vote for him over Biden.

• State Republican parties across the country are in a state of complete disarray, according to POLITICO. 

• Word on the street is the Biden campaign is hiring for more digital advertising and data analytics jobs based at HQ in Wilmington. Help us get more FWIW readers on the campaign: View & apply for the open roles here >>

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In Defense of the Donald

Donald Trump was indicted this week on federal charges relating to the January 6th insurrection and his efforts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election. He now faces 78 felony counts for crimes ranging from paying off a porn star to stealing classified documents to trying to stage a coup. 

The fact remains that he is the leading candidate for his party’s presidential nomination in 2024. For any normal human, three (soon to be four) serious criminal proceedings would tank one’s political future. But Teflon Don appears bulletproof in the eyes of his most die-hard supporters, who make up a considerable portion of the GOP primary electorate.

One would think that the former President’s rivals on the campaign trail would be eager to use their opponent’s legal troubles as a bludgeon with which to attack the front-runner. Instead, several of his opponents are falling over themselves to defend Trump against the myriad charges he faces and are attempting to burn down the entire American legal system in the process.