Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2020

Incumbent Republican Donald Trump led an unsuccessful campaign for the 2020 United States presidential election. He was inaugurated for his first term on January 20, 2017, and officially announced his reelection campaign on June 18, 2019.

Donald Trump began his re-election campaign unusually early for an incumbent president. He began spending money on his reelection effort within weeks of his election and officially filed his campaign with the Federal Election Commission on the day of his inauguration. From February 2017 onward, Trump held more than 150 rallies and fundraisers for this campaign, visiting key electoral states. The campaign also raised funds and ran two nationwide advertising campaigns. Trump said in several stump speeches that the slogans for the 2020 race would be "Keep America Great" and "Promises Made, Promises Kept". On November 7, 2018, Trump confirmed that Mike Pence would be his vice presidential running mate in 2020. Trump's reelection bid was ultimately unsuccessful; the 2020 election was won by the Democratic Party ticket of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Trump refused to accept the results; he and his allies made false and disproven claims of fraud, pressured elections officials, filed several unsuccessful lawsuits, and directly attempted to overturn the results at the county, state, and federal level. This culminated in the attack on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, for which Trump was impeached a second time. The day after the attack, Trump stated that a "new administration" would be succeeding his, without mentioning president-elect Biden by name, in a video posted on Twitter.

Researchers estimate that the rallies Trump held from June 20 through September 22 caused more than 30,000 diagnosed cases of COVID-19 and more than 700 deaths.

Background

Trump's predecessors merged their campaign committees into their party's committee following their election victories. Following his 2016 election victory, Trump eschewed this presidential tradition and retained a separate campaign committee which continued raising funds. In December 2016, the campaign raised $11million. These moves indicated that Trump was already eyeing a 2020 run.

Trump started spending money on the 2020 race on November 24, 2016 (sixteen days after the end of the 2016 election). The earliest campaign disbursement that his committees reported was spent towards the 2020 presidential primaries was for the purchase of a Delta Air Lines ticket on this date.

Trump officially filed his reelection campaign with the FEC on January 20, 2017, the day of his inauguration. Trump launched his reelection campaign earlier in his presidency than his predecessors did. Barack Obama (2012), George W. Bush ( 2004), Bill Clinton ( 1996), George H. W. Bush ( 1992) and Ronald Reagan (1984) all declared their candidacies for reelection in the third year of their presidencies. Trump filed the papers for his reelection campaign approximately 47 months prior to the date of the election. In contrast, both Reagan and George H. W. Bush did so approximately twelve, George W. Bush approximately eighteen, and both Clinton and Obama approximately nineteen months before those elections.

While previous presidents had held rallies in the early days of their presidency to garner support for legislation, such rallies differed from Trump's in that they were funded by the White House rather than by campaign committees. One of the advantages of having his campaign committee fund the events is that organizers can more discriminately screen attendees, refusing entry to non-supporters. Trump's February 2017 rally in Melbourne, Florida, was the earliest campaign rally for an incumbent president.

By filing for his campaign as early as he did, Trump gave himself a head start on fundraising. This theoretically helped discourage primary challengers.

Since his three predecessors (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama) won reelection, had Trump been reelected, it would have been the first time in American history that there have been four consecutive presidents who were elected to two terms.

Permanent campaign

Although Trump's early campaign filing was extraordinarily unusual, aspects of a " permanent campaign" are not entirely unprecedented in American politics. Such a phenomenon had a presence in the White House at least as early as the presidency of Bill Clinton. Under the advice of Sidney Blumenthal, Clinton's staff continued to engage in campaign methodology once in office, using polling for assistance in making decisions.

Political observers who bolster the opinion that a permanent campaign has had a significant impact on recent presidencies argue that decisions by presidents have increasingly been made with considerations to their impact on voter approval.

The concept of a permanent campaign also describes the focus which recent presidents have given to electoral concerns during their tenures in office, with the distinction between the time they have spent governing and the time they have spent campaigning having become blurred. Political observers consider the rise in presidential fundraising as a symptom of the permanent campaign.

The disproportionately large amounts of time presidents have spent visiting key electoral states (and a comparatively small amount of time they have spent visiting states that pose little electoral importance to them) has been pointed to as evidence of ulterior electoral motives influencing presidential governance, emblematic of the blurred lines between campaigning and governance in the White House. For instance, George W. Bush embarked on 416 domestic trips during his first three years in office. This was 114 more than his predecessor Bill Clinton made in his first three years. In his first year, 36% of Bush's domestic trips were to the 16 states that were considered swing states after having been decided the closest margins during the 2000 election. In his second year, 45% of his domestic travel was to these states, and his third year 39% of his domestic travel was to these states.

According to the Associated Press, a data analysis firm named Data Propria, launched in May 2018 to provide ad-targeting services and run by former officials of Cambridge Analytica, is working on public relations for the Trump 2020 re-election campaign.

Political positions

Emerging from the 2020 convention, the campaign agenda for a second term was primarily to build on the first term agenda.

As some George Floyd protests included violent incidents, Trump emphasized "law and order" as a major campaign theme, directing particular criticism at antifa. Trump and attorney general Bill Barr asserted that antifa had organized the protests, although there was no evidence to support that. Barr had also baselessly linked antifa to the Black Lives Matter movement. Three August 2020 DHS draft reports did not mention antifa as a domestic terrorism risk and ranked white supremacy as the top risk, higher than that of foreign terrorist groups. Brian Murphy — until August 2020 the DHS undersecretary for intelligence and analysis — asserted in a September 2020 whistleblower complaint that secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf and his deputy Ken Cuccinelli instructed him "to modify intelligence assessments to ensure they matched up with the public comments by President Trump on the subject of ANTIFA and 'anarchist' groups" and to downplay the severity of risk associated with white supremacy, which Murphy said he declined to do. The campaign sent a fundraising text message to supporters in September 2020 stating an "ANTIFA ALERT," continuing, "They'll attack your homes if Joe's elected."

Approval ratings

Presidential approval ratings, while rising slightly throughout the second half of his first term, have generally shown Trump to be one of the least popular presidents in the history of modern opinion polling during a presidential election year. Political observers point out that presidential job approval is highly partisan, with Gallup writing in March 2020:

The 92% approval among Republicans and 42% among independents are close to his highest ratings for those groups. Meanwhile, his approval rating among Democrats, currently 8%, hasn't been above 13% since he took office in February 2017. The current 84-point gap in approval between Republicans and Democrats is just a few points shy of the record polarization Gallup found in late January and early February.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in early spring 2020, Trump's approval rating saw a small but notable rally in support, followed by a tick-down in mid-2020. In June and July 2020, public polling showed Trump's approval significantly weakening.

Domestic trips made by Donald Trump as U.S. president

The following maps document the frequency with which Trump has visited each state and territory during his presidency.

2017 campaign developments

January 2017: Launch

On January 10, 2017, ''Politico'' reported that Trump would be keeping his campaign offices in Trump Tower open in order to lay the groundwork for a re-election campaign. By that time his campaign offices at Trump Tower already included a staff of about ten people led by Republican strategist Michael Glassner. Glassner's deputy is John Pence, nephew of Vice President Mike Pence. The campaign staff was focused on data-building and fundraising for a 2020 reelection campaign.

On January 18, Trump revealed, in an interview with ''The Washington Post'', that he had decided ''Keep America Great'' would be his 2020 reelection campaign slogan. Two days later, on the day of his inauguration, Trump filed a form with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) declaring that he qualified as a candidate for the 2020 presidential election.

February 2017: First rally

By February 1, 2017, Trump's reelection campaign had already raised over $7 million.

The first rally organized by the campaign was held on February 18, 2017, in Melbourne, Florida, and was attended by an estimated 9,000 supporters. It was the earliest an incumbent president had ever held a reelection campaign rally. During the rally, Trump defended his actions and criticized the media. He referred to a nonexistent incident ("last night in Sweden...") while criticizing the asylum policies of several European countries. After backlash from the press and the Swedish government, Trump said he was referring to a Fox News program aired the previous day.

On February 24, Trump spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual event which has often held a presidential straw poll. However, the CPAC 2017 straw poll did not include a preference survey on presidential candidates.

March 2017: Second and third rallies

On March 4, there were a series of local rallies held by allies of the campaign in some fifty cities. Several of the rallies were met by counter-demonstrations where some protesters were arrested. Other events were held around the country throughout March, some of which resulted in violence.

The campaign's second rally was held a month later in Nashville on March 15, and coincided with the 250th birthday of Andrew Jackson. Prior to the rally, Trump paid tribute to Jackson and laid a wreath at his tomb. During the rally, Trump promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act ('Obamacare') and defended his revised travel ban, which was put on hold by Derrick Watson, a federal judge in Hawaii, hours later.

A third rally was held by the campaign in Louisville on March 20. At the rally, Trump promoted efforts to repeal Obamacare.

On March 29, it was reported that Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law, had been hired as a consultant by the campaign's digital vendor Giles-Parscale.

April 2017: Fourth rally

By mid-April, the Trump campaign had a staff of around twenty employees.

Trump gave a speech on April 28 at an event for the National Rifle Association.

Trump held his fourth campaign rally on April 29 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which coincided with the hundredth day of Trump's presidency. It also took place the same night as the White House Correspondents' Dinner, which Trump did not attend. In addition to Trump, Vice President Pence also spoke at the April 29 rally.

May 2017: Launch of first advertising campaign

On May 1, the campaign announced that they were spending $1.5million on national advertisements touting Trump's accomplishments in the first hundred days. The ad buy, which included advertisements targeted at voters who supported specific agenda items of Trump's presidency, came approximately 42 months before election day 2020, or any other major party's candidate declarations. FactCheck.org found several inaccuracies in the advertisement, and Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune described the 30-second advertisement as being, "stuffed with Trump's signature misleading puffery". Additionally, original versions of the ad showed Trump shaking hands with H. R. McMaster, an active-duty military member who was barred from participating in any political advocacy while in uniform. Subsequent airings of the advertisement substituted this clip.

The ad claimed that the "fake news" media refused to report the successes of the administration, but ''Forbes'' pointed out that the ad itself cited mainstream media sources including CNBC, ''The Boston Globe'' and ''The New York Times''. Because of this accusation against the news media, CNN decided to stop running the ad, a decision that campaign manager Michael Glassner criticized as an action to "censor our free speech". ABC, CBS and NBC later joined CNN in refusing to play the ad. Lara Trump, a consultant to the campaign and the daughter-in-law of the president, called the ad removals "an unprecedented act of censorship in America that should concern every freedom-loving citizen".

On May 8, shortly after reporter Cecilia Vega asked White House press secretary Sean Spicer about statements that Trump's 2016 campaign had issued in regards to temporarily banning Muslims from entering the United States, Trump's campaign website purged itself of all campaign statements from the 2016 campaign. Campaign chairman Michael Glassner later announced that the website was being redesigned. The redesign of Trump's campaign website was seen by media sources as laying the groundwork for a full-bodied reelection campaign. ''The Washington Examiner'' David Druckert pointed out on Twitter that the redesigned website featured an image of Trump with a uniformed military officer on its 'Donate' page, which violated the Department of Defense's regulation that prohibits uniformed military officers from engaging in any political activity.

On May 18, Trump hosted chairmen of the Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania state parties at the White House. Each of their states are considered to be presidential swing states. On May 25, Trump's sons Donald Jr. and Eric, along with Eric's wife Lara, held a series of meetings at the Washington, D.C., offices of the Republican National Committee (RNC) to outline campaign strategy.

June 2017: Fifth rally, first fundraiser and visits to swing states

On June 1, President Trump announced his plans to withdraw from the Paris Agreement saying, "I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris." Soon afterwards, the campaign announced it would hold a ''Pittsburgh Not Paris Rally'' across from the White House. The rally was held June3 at Lafayette Square. The event was sponsored by the Fairfax County Republican Committee and the Republican Party of Virginia. Relatively few people attended the event, with estimates varying from 200 people (including counter-protesters) to "dozens" of supporters. By comparison, more people attended the anti-Trump March for Truth, which was held the same day.

Trump began campaigning in Iowa in June. Iowa was considered to be a perennial swing state and the Iowa caucus is scheduled as the earliest presidential primary election. Iowa has also been home to nonbinding straw polls held ahead of the primaries (Trump won the 2015 straw poll among Republican candidates).

On June 7, Trump delivered what the '' New York Daily News'' described as a "campaign-style speech" in Cincinnati, Ohio. Five days later, reports surfaced that Trump was making plans to embark on a more expansive tour that would visit several battleground states.

Trump held his fifth official campaign rally in Cedar Rapids in eastern Iowa. The area, home to a large population of working class whites, was seen as a strong region for Trump to find a base of political support. The date for the rally, having been changed several times, was ultimately held on June 21, marking the first time in his presidency that Trump traveled west of the Mississippi River. At the rally, Iowa GOP state chairman Jeff Kaufmann verbally attacked Nebraskan senator Ben Sasse, who was speculated by some as a potential challenger to Trump in the 2020 Republican primaries.

Vice President Pence attended Joni Ernst's 3rd Annual Roast and Ride fundraiser, held on June3 at the Central Iowa Expo near Boone, Iowa. The previous editions of this event have included presidential campaign appearances. Trump himself had previously attended Ernst's fundraiser in 2016 while campaigning in Iowa, and seven Republican presidential contenders attended the event in 2015.

On June 28, the president hosted a fundraiser at his company's hotel in Washington, D.C., benefitting the Trump Victory Committee, a joint committee that raises funds both for his reelection campaign and for the RNC. The fundraiser was the first event Trump hosted for the Victory Committee since becoming president, as well as the first presidential campaign fundraiser. The event was co-organized by RNC chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel and RNC National Finance Chairman Steve Wynn. The fundraiser was attended by about 300 guests and was reportedly expected to gross $10million. Trump was joined at the event by the first lady and top White House advisors. Among those reported to have been in attendance at the fundraiser were Mica Mosbacher, Dean Heller and Katrina Pierson. Additionally, Harold Hamm and a number of high-profile figures were spotted in the hotel's lobby during the event. Press were barred from the event, a break of precedent since reporters were permitted to the first fundraisers held by each of Trump's two predecessors. Trump's decision to host the event at a venue from which he personally profits garnered criticism.

Throughout June, the president also gave speeches at events in the swing-states of Florida, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Lara Trump made appearances on behalf of the campaign at events in New York and Texas during the month of June. In New York, Lara spoke at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel on June 20 for the annual New York Republican State Committee gala.

By the end of June, Trump had visited fewer states in his first six months in office compared to his two immediate predecessors, Barack Obama and George W. Bush. Both Obama and Bush had visited every time zone in the continental United States, while Trump had so far visited only the Eastern and Central time zones. Obama and Bush also took both overnight and multiple-day trips throughout the country while Trump's domestic travels had largely been limited to a two-hour flight radius of Washington, D.C., and his overnight stays were at Camp David, Mar-a-Lago and Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster. One of the benefits Trump was speculated to obtain from such trips is more favorable coverage from local news outlets in the areas visited. Most of Trump's trips to Wisconsin were focused on the Milwaukee area in the southeast part of the state, which Trump won in 2016 by a smaller margin than Mitt Romney had in 2012.

July 2017: Sixth rally

On July 1, Trump delivered a speech at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts during an event honoring veterans. The event was sponsored by First Baptist Dallas and the Salem Media Group. The event was described as resembling one of Trump's campaign rallies.

On July 6, ''The Hill'' reported that 2020 campaign merchandise bearing Trump's name (including merchandise supporting and opposing his candidacy) was selling more than those with the names of prospective opponents.

First Daughter and Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump introduced Vice President Pence at a GOP fundraiser.

In its mid-July financial disbursement filing, the campaign reported that on June 27, Donald Trump Jr. made a payment to Alan Futerfas for "legal consulting" regarding his attempt to get "dirt on Clinton" in the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between him, Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and one or more representatives of the Russian government.

On July 24, Trump gave a highly political address at the National Scout Jamboree, a traditionally non-political event.

Trump held his sixth campaign rally on July 25 at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio. During the speech, Trump reveled in addressing an audience outside of the national capital. He also condemned "predators and criminal aliens" and called them "animals". ''Chicago Tribune'' writer Rex W. Huppke criticized this comment, comparing it to the previous day's remarks at the National Scout Jamboree. Trump also made remarks on the homicide rate in Chicago, and called on the mayor, Rahm Emanuel, to "get tough"; Emanuel responded the following day, stating: "It is not about being tough, it's about being smart and strategic."

September 2017

On September 16, groups supporting Trump held a rally on the National Mall named the '' Mother of All Rallies''. Organizers were originally hoping to draw a million attendees, but in planning for security, the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia expected only eighteen hundred. Ultimately, only about a thousand people attended.

A national organization had originally planned to hold "We Support Trump" rallies across the nation on September9, however subsequently reneged on those plans. However, an independent rally in support of Trump was subsequently announced to be held on that date in Georgetown, Delaware, in a county where Trump got a majority of the vote in 2016. The Georgetown rally was sponsored by the Sussex County Republican Committee and attended by over 100 people.

On September 26, Trump attended a campaign fundraising dinner hosted by the Republican National Committee in New York City. The event was reported to have raised nearly $5million, with major donors spending up to $250,000 to dine with President Trump. Trump scheduled for a quick meeting with Nikki Haley and other U.N. officials immediately prior the fundraiser; travel expenses were reportedly filed as "government business", and therefore taxpayer-funded. Trump's pattern of mixing travel for fundraising activities with travel for government business has drawn criticism from government watchdog organizations.

Trump was scheduled to headline a fundraiser in Dallas on September 27, which was canceled by its organizers in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

October 2017

On October 16, Trump indicated his desire to see his 2016 general election opponent, Hillary Clinton, run again in 2020. Clinton had previously asserted that she had no desire to run for public office again.

On October 25, the president traveled to Texas for a fundraiser hosted by the Dallas County Republican Party for both the RNC and his reelection campaign. The event was closed to the media. Mark Knoller noted, "By my count, this will be Pres Trump's 10th political fundraiser since taking office. 9of10 were closed to press coverage including today."

November 2017

In early November, ethics watchdogs and political analysts expressed concerns over Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump assuming a greater role in the White House, while also continuing to be an active member of Trump's reelection campaign. Lara Trump, while working for the reelection campaign, had reportedly held private political meetings with government officials such as Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, Veteran Affairs Committee chairman Phil Roe and Representative Ron DeSantis.

December 2017

In December 2017, polls showed that more than 40 percent of Americans wanted Trump impeached, reportedly higher than the percentage of Americans who said at the time that they planned to vote for him in 2020.

2018 campaign developments

February 2018

In February 2018, the Trump campaign sent out an email with a photo of Trump paying a hospital visit to a student survivor of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. After stating that Trump prioritizes the safety of American students and schools, the email linked to the campaign's donations page.

On February 25, the Drudge Report announced that the president had chosen Brad Parscale as the campaign manager for his re-election campaign. Parscale was the digital strategist for the previous campaign as the head of Giles-Parscale, which raised some concerns about how the campaign would conduct its advertising.

March 2018

On March 10, Trump held a rally in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. He campaigned for Rick Saccone for the local special election and also declared that his 2020 campaign slogan would be "Keep America Great!"

On March 13, Trump made his first trip to the state of California as president to attend a campaign fundraiser at the Beverly Hills home of Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Ed Glazer. The same day, it was announced that Katrina Pierson and John McEntee had been hired by the campaign as senior advisors.

April 2018

In 2018, Trump skipped the White House Correspondent's Dinner, holding a rally on the same night (as he had the previous year), this time in Washington, Michigan.

May 2018

In May, Trump held a rally in Indiana where he once again shared that his 2020 campaign slogan would be "Keep America Great!". Although he had already revealed this before, Trump told the supporters at his rally,

June 2018

On June 20, Trump held a rally in Duluth, Minnesota, supporting Republican Congressional candidate Pete Stauber in the 2018 midterm electionsMurphy, Mike
"At Minnesota rally, Trump brags he's more elite than 'the elite'"
MarketWatch, June 21, 2018. June 23, 2018. and addressing his own 2020 prospectsSorkin, Amy Davidson
"Never Mind the Children. In Duluth, Trump Celebrates Himself"
The New Yorker, June 21, 2018. June 23, 2018. in the state among other subjects. The rally came on the day the president had signed an executive order on the treatment of immigrant families with children. At the rally he said enforcement at the border would be "just as tough" under the executive order.

Trump traveled to the Nevada Republican Convention in Las Vegas on Saturday, June 23, and also appeared on the trip at a fundraiser for U.S. senator Dean Heller. Along with policy issues Trump addressed Heller's challenger, U.S. representative Jacky Rosen, as "Wacky Jacky". The president continued, asking of the simultaneous Nevada Democratic Party convention in Reno featuring Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, "Wacky Jacky is campaigning with Pocahontas, can you believe it?"

On June 27, the president held a rally in Fargo, North Dakota, supporting Representative Kevin Cramer in his challenge to sitting Senator Heidi Heitkamp. Trump also addressed, at the rally, the just-announced news of the retirement from the Supreme Court of Justice Anthony Kennedy. Cramer addressed the issue of abortion and Heitkamp's position on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act as his reason for entering the race. "'On behalf of the most forgotten people,' Mr. Cramer said to the president as both men took the stage to deafen applause, 'the unborn babies, thank you for standing for life.'"

October 2018

During a campaign rally in Houston on October 22, Trump defined himself as a nationalist, acknowledging the controversial use of the word.

November 2018

The campaign financed a number of rallies in support of Republican candidates in the Midterm election. While the Republicans grew their Senate majority in the elections, they lost a significant amount of their House delegation, including control of the chamber.

On November 7, Trump confirmed that Mike Pence would be his vice presidential running mate in 2020.

December 2018

The campaign makes the unprecedentedly early move to merge the campaign's field operations with that of the Republican National Committee. The campaign tapped White House political director Bill Stepien and Director of Public Liaison Justin Clark as senior political advisors, who would focus on delegate organization and to ensure the 2020 Republican National Convention would run smoothly.

2019 campaign developments

January–March 2019

In January, in a unanimous vote, the Republican National Committee informally endorsed the president's campaign and coordination between the two entities formally began.

In February, a state-by-state effort was launched by Trump's campaign team to oppose any presidential challenges from within the Republican Party. The campaign has used endorsements, lobbying and state-party rule changes to ensure Trump does not face opposition during the Republican nominating convention, with a senior campaign adviser calling it a "process of ensuring that the national convention is a television commercial for the president for an audience of 300million and not an internal fight".

El Paso rally

The first rally of the year took place at the El Paso County Coliseum, in El Paso, Texas on February 12. It was highlighted by pro-wall talking points and a BBC
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