A new fundraising group overseen by Chris LaCivita, the Republican strategist who led the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth takedown of John Kerry in 2004, is preparing a $30 million advertising offensive to support President Trump’s reelection.
The super PAC Preserve America is expected to launch this week with a battery of ads. Republican megadonors Sheldon Adelson and Bernie Marcus are expected to contribute, two people familiar with the plan told Politico.
Ads will begin airing Tuesday in Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Iowa, and Georgia. About $25 million will be allocated to television, and the remainder will go toward digital commercials.
LaCivita will be supported in the effort by Jon Downs, known for his candidate-boosting ads for Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Perry, among others. Trump 2016 pollster Adam Geller, who is also working with the Trump-approved fundraising group America First Action, will provide polling.
In 2004, LaCivita played a key role in advising Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a political organization formed the same year to help puncture the election chances of Kerry, then the Democratic presidential nominee. The ads featured video testimonials from veterans who served alongside Kerry during the Vietnam War, accusing him of inflating his record and disparaging troops.
Over the years, LaCivita has worked on campaigns for Trump allies, such as Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Linda McMahon, and Allen West, among others.
Preserve America will focus primarily on law and order, a pillar of Trump’s reelection strategy. Ads attacking Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and amplifying Trump’s key message come during a week in which the president is expected to visit Kenosha, Wisconsin, where two people were killed amid riots last week.
In one ad, retired Los Angeles police Lt. John Gillis speaks about his daughter’s murder by a gang member. “Joe Biden is not going to take a stand,” Gillis says. “He can’t do the tough things … He’s too worried about popular opinion. That’s his character.”
Another features an Arizona woman named Alyssa Cordova, who details her husband’s death in the line of duty.
“I haven’t heard Joe Biden stand up for law enforcement, which says a lot,” Cordova says. “You’re part of the problem because you’re condoning it. What kind of a leader are you?”
