More
than half of the record spending on negative advertising during the
2016 presidential primary has been directed at a single candidate, Donald J. Trump, a barrage that threatens to undermine his candidacy even as he continues to march toward the Republican nomination.
Of
the more than $132 million spent on negative ads by candidates and the
groups supporting them, nearly $70 million has gone to commercials
assailing Mr. Trump, according to a New York Times analysis of data
provided by Kantar Media/CMAG. The sharp focus on a single candidate is
especially surprising given the exceptional size of the initial
Republican field.
In addition to Mr. Trump’s opponents, three Republican “super PACs”
have made it their main focus to take him down. The Club for Growth,
Our Principles PAC and the American Future Fund, all unaligned with any
particular candidate, have spent more than $23.5 million on negative ads
against him.
On
Monday, Hillary Clinton crossed primary lines to add to the onslaught,
releasing a commercial that highlights comments Mr. Trump has made about
immigration and abortion and argues that he is trying to get Americans
to turn against one another.
“What
is unusual and unprecedented is the array of advertisers who are out
there flogging Trump on the air,” said Elizabeth Wilner, a senior vice
president at Kantar Media/CMAG. “You have general election foes
attacking him, you have his primary foes attacking him, and you have
specific groups whose whole focus in life is just to make sure that he’s
not the nominee.”
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