Trump’s 2020 campaign ads were “pure attacks”
How attack ads of Trump’s campaign contributed to political violence
The words and rhetoric of the incumbent President Donald Trump have incited violence throughout his campaigns and presidential term. The 2020 presidential election witnessed an unusual pattern of attack ads.
Disproportionate volume
A typical campaign ad can be categorized into one of the three kinds: promotional, contrast and attack.
During his failed 2020 presidential bid, the majority of Trump’s campaign rhetoric was prue attacks. According to a weekly study of the Wesleyan Media Project, over 60 percent of pro-Trump ads were pure attacks, and fewer than 10 percent were positive.
By contrast, pro-Biden ads are positive or contrast, with only about 10 percent being pure attacks. While the winning candidate Joe Biden vastly outspent President Trump on TV ads, maintaining a nearly 2-to-1 advantage on the airwaves, that doesn’t mean his campaign management and ads allocation are near-perfect.
