Starting Today in the AJC, The DNC Will Tail Trump With Homepage Takeovers Until He Agrees to Debate

Donald Trump has spent his week dodging calls to keep his promise to debate and putting his record head-to-head with Vice President Harris’ accomplishments and vision for the nation. Until we get an answer on whether or not we’ll see Trump on the debate stage, the DNC will launch digital ad takeovers in major papers in states following Trump rallies on the campaign trail. This started today in Atlanta, with the DNC issuing a “homepage takeover” of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

We know why Trump is dodging: Trump is afraid to debate because he’s hiding from his toxic Project 2025 agenda. The agenda is deeply unpopular with voters, who don’t see draconian abortion bans, higher taxes, and weakened American democracy as a winning platform.

Vice President Harris is ready; On September 10, she will proudly stand behind her record and share her positive vision for Georgia’s future. Donald Trump knows the only way he can get votes is if he hides his dangerous agenda – from supercharging inflation to enacting a nationwide abortion ban. Democrats are making sure Georgians know the truth about Trump’s plans and his cowardly attempts to back out of a substantive discussion.

Find some of the coverage of the new ad campaign below: 

ABC News: Democrats to run newspaper ads in Trump’s rally locations calling for debate commitment

[Tal Axelrod, 08/02/24]

Key Point: “When former President Donald Trump rallies across the country, voters in some of those states will read coverage of his events in their biggest papers — and new Democratic attack ads.

“The Democratic National Committee on Friday is launching a new strategy to needle Trump over not committing to debating Vice President Kamala Harris.

“The effort will start Friday in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ahead of Trump’s rally with his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, in Atlanta on Saturday.”

Reuters: New ads calling Trump ‘afraid to debate’ to follow him on campaign trail

[Jarrett Renshaw, 08/02/24]

Key Point: “The DNC has purchased large ads that dominate the digital homepages of major local newspapers in states where Trump plans to campaign in the coming weeks. The ads say ‘the convicted felon is afraid to debate’ and question whether that is due to his stance on abortion.”

“The first ads are running on the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s homepage ahead of Trump’s visit to the Georgia capital on Saturday and the ad campaign will follow him through local news outlets at each rally stop, the DNC said.”

Daily Beast: Democrats Rent News Homepages to Troll ‘Scared’ Trump

[Mini Racker, 08/02/24]

Key Point: “After Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee, Trump said he would be happy to debate her—more than once, in fact. But then he wavered on doing the ABC News debate on Sept. 10, which had been scheduled before Joe Biden exited the race and Harris assumed his place. The Trump campaign said it would not finalize a debate agreement until the Democratic nominee was official.”

“Trump himself told Fox News he could ‘make a case’ for not debating.”

NBC: DNC launches digital ads in local newspapers where Trump plans to campaign

Key Point: “The Democratic National Committee announced it will run digital ads in the local newspapers of the cities where Trump plans to campaign in the coming days and weeks.

“Starting this weekend in Atlanta, the ads will call on Trump to debate Harris, blaming his ties to Project 2025 as the reason why he won’t debate.

“‘Trump is a convicted felon whose Project 2025 agenda would ban abortion nationwide. No wonder he’s afraid to debate,’ the ad reads.”

States Newsroom: Democrats step up pressure on Trump to debate Harris in new swing-state ad campaign

[Jacob Fischler, 08/02/24]

Key Point: “The Democratic National Committee will unveil a confrontational digital ad campaign in battleground states, starting Friday in Atlanta, to press Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to debate Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic nominee, States Newsroom has learned.

“Trump has not committed to debating Harris, who has said she is eager to keep a Sept. 10 debate date that was negotiated before she entered the race.

“The ads, which will blanket major newspaper websites in battleground states where Trump is campaigning, starting with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, call the former president ‘afraid to debate’ Harris, according to a news release from the DNC. 

“The DNC plans to replicate the ads running in Atlanta on the websites of other major newspapers in swing states on days Trump will be stumping in those states. The ads will generally run the day of a Trump campaign event, but the first ads in Atlanta will run for two days, Friday and Saturday, ahead of a Trump appearance there Saturday, a DNC spokesperson said.”

Atlanta News First: Democratic National Committee, in homepage ad, challenges Trump to debate Vice President Kamala Harris

[Doug Reardon, 08/02/24]

Key Point: “The Democratic National Committee has called on former President Donald Trump to debate the presumptive Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

The DNC took out front-page space in Friday’s digital edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, suggesting Trump is “afraid” to debate Harris.”