Former New York mayor and 2020 Democratic hopeful Mike Bloomberg has secured a 60-second spot during February’s Super Bowl in Miami – a slot that will likely cost the self-funding multi-billionaire candidate at least $10m.
Rather than offering a warm introduction to Bloomberg, as much of his $100m TV ad spend has so far, Bloomberg campaign has said the ad will target Donald Trump, whose re-election campaign is also reportedly looking to run a 30-second ad during the 11 February game.
“The biggest point is getting under Trump’s skin,” said Michael Frazier, a spokesman for the Bloomberg campaign,” told the New York Times.
The Super Bowl ad represents a show of financial strength rarely seen in presidential politics due to the huge expense that is usually beyond the reach of political campaigns.
Bloomberg, who got 11% in a recent national poll, has vowed to spend at least $100m to erode support for Trump by highlighting broken promises on infrastructure and healthcare and other issues.
Bloomberg is not participating in the Iowa caucuses next month and is not on the ballots of other early-voting states, including New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Instead he is spending tens of million dollars on ads in larger states – like California – that vote on Super Tuesday in early March.
