NEW YORK — Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund unveiled new TV and digital ads that criticize President Trump for refusing to address the dual crises of gun violence and COVID-19 that continue to take American lives. The ads also highlight Trump siding with the gun lobby after receiving more than $31 million in political support from the NRA in 2016, and opposing common-sense gun safety laws after mass shootings in Parkland and in El Paso. Part of a $6 million ad buy, the ads are Everytown’s first presidential TV ads of the cycle and will run in Tampa and Orlando and on digital platforms statewide.
WATCH TV ADS “WARNING,” “CHECK,” AND “MASK.”
“President Trump’s utter failure to address gun violence and COVID-19, which are two of the most urgent public health emergencies facing our nation, has been felt especially hard in Florida,” said John Feinblatt, head of Everytown Victory Fund. “In the run-up to Election Day, Everytown is going all out to remind voters that President Trump has consistently put the interests of the gun lobby ahead of the safety of the American people.”
“Priorities USA is doing everything we can to reach the voters that will decide this election. We are proud to partner with Everytown to make the case for Joe Biden to Floridians by connecting his record of strong leadership with the issues that voters care most about,” said Chairman of Priorities USA Guy Cecil. “While Donald Trump has been endangering the well-being of the American people since day one of his presidency, organizations like Everytown have spent years fighting for our safety. Florida voters want a president who will stand with them, not with lobbyists and corporations.”
Everytown partnered with Priorities USA Action to produce the ads, which represent Everytown’s first major ad buy in Florida this cycle and first major ad buy in the presidential campaign. The advertising campaign includes $4 million in television ads, which will run in the Orlando and Tampa media markets, and $2 million in digital ads, which will run statewide.
A May survey of voters in 13 battleground states including Florida showed that gun safety-themed messages were among the most impactful at moving voters’ support to Joe Biden, and that messaging focused on the impacts of COVID-19 on America’s gun violence crisis was the second most effective overall at shifting support to Biden. Recent polling shows Latino voters in Florida consider opposition to background checks on all gun sales to be the most disqualifying position a candidate can take.
This year, Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund and Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund will spend $60 million on the 2020 elections, doubling what they spent during the 2020 elections.