Bloomberg campaign says it spent over $275 million on anti-Trump ads, releases clips to public

Michael Bloomberg’s now-scrapped presidential campaign said Wednesday it spent more than $275 million on ads hammering President Trump, releasing a trove of the clips to the public. 

The campaign for the former New York City mayor said the advertising blitz, which was part of a broader half-billion dollar campaign to boost Bloomberg’s presidential ambitions, was a key tool to challenge Trump ahead of the general election while Democrats were embroiled in a internecine primary battle. 

“Until the Bloomberg campaign kicked off this effort, Trump had been running virtually unopposed in the key states that will decide the 2020 election. And if it were not for the Bloomberg campaign, Trump would have continued running unopposed until Democrats officially select their nominee and switch their full focus to the incumbent president,” the campaign said in a statement. 

“The Bloomberg campaign is making all of its creative assets available to the public to download and share on their own networks,” it added, including a link to a treasure chest of its videos.

In a breakdown included in the statement, the campaign said it spent $225 million on television ads and $49.6 million in digital anti-Trump ads. It also dropped $671,664 on “outdoor” advertising.

The campaign said it hoped the release of the ads could help maintain the fight against Trump as Democrats continue to vote in the primary race, which has evolved into a two-man contest between former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

“Even though Mike is no longer running for president, his commitment to defeating Trump is as strong as ever,” the campaign said on its website.

While many of the ads listed by the campaign are old videos that boosted Bloomberg, several savage the Trump White House and seek to cast the president as unfit for office.

“Another day, another Trump White House drama,” says a female narrator in one ad. “Like the government shutdown, administration turnover, record deficit and escalating turmoil. You can end the chaos. Vote him out.”

Bloomberg made a late entry into the presidential race in November amid fears that Biden was faltering in his bid to be the field’s centrist standard-bearer. However, the former New York City mayor dropped out of the race after a dismal Super Tuesday showing and a stretch of Biden wins that day that allayed moderates’ fears that he was stumbling.