Republican TV Ad Strategists Not Needed
The Trump Campaign Will Just Run Debate Clips
The current presidential head-to-head polling — both national and statewide — are irrelevant. The real question, in my view, is how the nature of the race is likely to play out from now through Election Day and whether it’s likely that Biden’s numbers will go into a tailspin in late September and early October.
It seems rather obvious that debate clips will be the most prominent form of Republican digital advertising in the Fall. How will Biden supporters — who still back him now — feel in late October if clips of the debate swamp TV and social media and Biden’s standing in the polls plummets further? Will they truly be surprised?
If you are a Biden supporter, you are likely dismayed that the mainstream media’s focus is squarely upon Biden’s mental and physical condition, to the exclusion of coverage about Trump’s own qualifications for once again holding the office. But as students of the media (as we all are) it is inescapable that a story of this nature will have legs throughout the rest of the campaign season. Case in point: liberal media outlets obsessed in 2016 about Hillary Clinton’s email controversy. That coverage sucked up a ton of oxygen and prevented the airing of other issues relevant to the campaign. And unfortunately for Clinton, it clearly damaged her candidacy. This media psychodymanic is just the way of our world.
Who was involved in the coverup of Biden’s condition? How bad was he six months ago? Three months ago? Will he take a test? Has he already taken a test? Will he hold more news conferences? The journalists cannot help themselves. This is what they do. And here, the obsession is particularly acute because of fear. The revelation of Biden’s deterioration is something that the media should have been covering — but didn’t. Instead, they attacked the Fox News obsession with the issue. Well, it turns out that Fox News had good grounds to be asking the hard questions here.
Now, based upon fear of criticism, fear of embarrassment, and fear of being misled, they are angry (fear-based anger) and pursuing the “story” hammer and tong.
This reality — of how the media coverage will play out — needs to be seriously considered by those who could be involved in a Biden “intervention.” I can see clips of the debate, with no voice over, ending with an image of Biden in a red circle with a line through it (anyone remember the Ghost Busters ads?). Full stop. End of video. Nothing more need be said.
Republican TV Ad consultants: you should probably find another way to make a living this Fall. You’re not needed.
Richard Quadrino is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University in Virginia. The opinions expressed are his own.
