When it comes to maintaining a consistent campaign message, Joe Biden is someone who can be very ... controlling.
Last week, streiff wrote about how the Biden campaign was attempting to intimidate cable news networks into keeping President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani off their airwaves, alleging he we was “spread[ing] false, debunked conspiracy theories on behalf of Donald Trump.”
Fast forward to this week, and the Biden campaign has once again taken to trying to strong-arm cable news outlets, this time over an explosive ad about the Ukraine issue that the Trump campaign is planning on running in key early voting states. Here’s how Politico described the upcoming ad blitz:
President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is preparing an avalanche of TV ads targeting Joe Biden in early primary states — its most aggressive step yet to meddle in the Democratic nomination contest.
Starting this weekend, the reelection effort will air over $1 million in anti-Biden commercials in Iowa, South Carolina, New Hampshire, and Nevada, according to two people familiar with the move. The spots focus on Trump’s claim that the former vice president and his son engaged in corruption in Ukraine. [...] The Trump campaign had already announced an $8 million national TV buy centered on impeachment and the Ukrainian matter. Of that total, slightly over $1 million will now be directed to the four early voting states, where Biden is locked in a competitive battle for the Democratic nomination.
Watch the ad below:
In response, the Biden campaign sent a threatening letter to Fox News demanding they not run it or any other ads like it:
In a letter to Fox News and Fox Business general counsel Lily Claffee, Biden campaign manager Greg Schultz wrote that the ad “falsely states” that “Biden offered Ukraine $1 billion to fire the prosecutor investigating a company affiliated with his son.” […] “Though the Trump campaign is prepared to fabricate outright lies, your station’s airwaves should not be used to disseminate them,” Schultz wrote. “We are putting you on notice about the absolute falsity of the advertisement’s claims, and we expect that you will reject it. Please consider this letter a standing request that you reject any advertisement containing similar claims, regardless whether the Trump campaign or a third-party group seeks to place it.”
There’s no word yet on whether or not Fox News plans to run the ad, but my guess is that they will out of sheer defiance. Let’s hope so, anyway.
Stay tuned.
Poster Comment:
Trump is wading in to pick his Dem opponent in 2020.
He forces Biden on the defensive and parries the impeachment attempt by raising the stakes over Biden's far greater problem with the appearance of self-dealing in the $1 billion aid package to Ukraine.
This will hurt Biden in the early states (IA/NV/NH/SC), that Trump is targeting by making voters there much shyer about Biden, raising the likelihood that Biden will get grilled by voters and debate moderators on this issue.
Once Trump knocks Biden out very early in the 2020 Dem primary season, Warren will become frontrunner. And that alone will bring Wall Street onboard with Trump. The only person in the universe they hate more than Warren is Sanders (and Hitler). If Trump can make Warren the 2020 Dem nominee, Wall Street and allied interests will likely pull their Dem donations at the presidential level and Trump will score in the range of $300-$500B that would otherwise flow to Biden if he were the Dem nominee.
I like how Trump is playing his early 2020 FUD game (fear/uncertainty/doubt).
Fox News has since issued a statement in response to the Biden campaign letting them know they will not bow to threats:
"We are not in the business of censoring ads from candidates on either side of the aisle. Vice President Joe Biden has a standing invitation to appear on any of our platforms."
This isn’t the first time in recent weeks that Joe Biden has attempted to flex some muscle with cable news outlets in hopes of suppressing the Ukraine story.
Last week, Red State’s streiff wrote about how the Biden campaign was attempting to intimidate cable news networks into keeping President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani off their airwaves, alleging he we was “spread[ing] false, debunked conspiracy theories on behalf of Donald Trump.”
