Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is expected to roll out a series of television ads for air in early voting states in coming weeks that could cost his campaign several million dollars.
A former Trump campaign staffer confirmed Monday that the self-funded billionaire is prepared to spend millions of his own fortune to ensure his policy ideas are heard before residents of the three earliest voting states — Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina — cast their ballots.
“I personally questioned the willingness of Trump to spend real ad dollars and it was confirmed to me,” the former Trump staffer, who departed the campaign on good terms, told the Washington Examiner.
Trump’s campaign originally budgeted $25 million for television advertising in the primary season, but the celebrity candidate’s status as a ratings magnet earned him enough free media to extinguish any need for paid TV air time.
But with 35 days to go until the Iowa caucuses, unnamed sources told Fox News that Trump is willing to begin spending at least $2 million a week to share his message with early state voters.
“Our Super PAC is Donald Trump’s bank account,” one Trump adviser reportedly said.
According to Fox News, the ads will start by reiterating Trump’s policy positions on issues central to his campaign. However, he could develop negative ads if his Republican rivals continue hitting him with attacks.
“If you attack Trump, he will attack you 10 times as hard. We will not allow any attack to go unanswered,” an unnamed campaign source was quoted as saying.
Trump debuted a series of radio ads on local airwaves in the early voting states in November that cost him around $300,000. Two of the ads were narrated by campaign staffers and none of them featured attacks against any of Trump’s opponents.
The radio ads came after retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson temporarily dethroned the real estate mogul from his top spot in Iowa. Trump was recently unseated again in Iowa, this time by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
His forthcoming television ads would come at a time when Cruz and his colleague, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, are both inching closer to Trump in national and early primary state polls.
Trump is second in the Washington Examiner‘s current power rankings.
