Trump releases new SC ad days after Democrats claim record primary turn out
Just days after more people voted in Saturday’s S.C. Democratic presidential primary than ever before, President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is releasing a new ad in the Palmetto State.
The campaign spent $50,000 to run the 90 second ad — which uses footage from Trump’s recent rally in North Charleston — on TV in Charleston, Greenville, Spartanburg, York, Lancaster and Chester counties.
The ad focuses on Trump listing his accomplishments since he became president, including expanding the VA Choice program, which allows veterans to seek doctors outside of the Veterans Affairs system if they have to wait more than 30 days for care.
In the ad, Trump claims he established the VA Choice program, but fact checkers have pointed out that the program originated under President Barack Obama. Trump’s expansion did change the criteria veterans must meet to see outside doctors, shortening the wait period to 20 days in most cases.
Trump also touted what he claims as some of his South Carolina-specific accomplishments, including bringing the state’s unemployment level down to 2.3%. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, South Carolina is tied with Utah and Vermont for the lowest unemployment rates in the country. The state’s unemployment rate has been declining for about a decade, following a national trend as the economy recovered from the Great Recession.
“You’re the forgotten people no more,” Trump said in the ad. “This state is home to some of the toughest men and strongest women ever to walk on the face of the earth.”
Trump frequently touts the economy and low unemployment rate as some of his greatest accomplishments during his time on office.
“We are one movement, one people, one family and one glorious nation under God,” Trump said in the ad. “America is thriving like never before, and ladies and gentlemen of South Carolina, the best is yet to come.
Trump’s campaign has run ads in several early voting states following the president’s rallies there, including Nevada and New Hampshire.
“We just continue to try to get every ounce of value out of the rallies. We know there are many thousands of people who were unable to get inside the rally and we want to make sure they could share in the excitement a little bit,” said Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the Trump campaign.
In 2016, Trump handily won South Carolina, besting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by more than 14 points. All the most recent polls show him easily winning South Carolina in general election match ups against U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders or former Vice President Joe Biden, though according to Real Clear Politics average of national polls, the two Democrats hold slight leads over the president.
In 2008, despite historic turnout of Democratic voters, Obama still lost South Carolina to U.S. Sen. John McCain by about nine percentage points.
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 11:30 AM.
