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Trump's 2020 campaign launch: the key takeaways

"Trump rehashes gripes, rips ‘radical’ Dems in 2020 launch"

After two and a half years in office, Trump remains fixated on the same grievances – and successes

Adam Gabbatt in Orlando
@adamgabbatt

Wed 19 Jun 2019 12.52 AEST
Last modified on Thu 20 Jun 2019 11.07 AEST

VIDEO - 3:25 Lot of fake news back there': Trump launches 2020 campaign – video highlights

Donald Trump launched his 2016 presidential campaign on 16 June 2015 .. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/16/donald-trump-announces-run-president , by descending an escalator in front of a small crowd in Trump Tower. Four years on, he launched his 2020 pitch to be re-elected to the White House to 20,000 people at Orlando’s Amway Center on a humid, rainy Florida night.

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Trump 2020 launch: Bernie Sanders attacks president's 'lies' and 'distortions' – as it happened
Read more > https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2019/jun/18/trump-2020-campaign-election-launch-speech-live-news-today-latest-updates-orlando-florida
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Trump is bidding for a second term at a time when the economy is doing well and unemployment is at its lowest rate for half a century. But he heads into the campaign as a historically unpopular president beset by scandal and having shattered many presidential norms. Just 42.5% of Americans approve of Trump’s performance, while 53.1% disapprove.

Here are the key takeaways:

Socialism will be front and center in 2020

Mike Pence introduced Trump, and the vice-president used his speech to hammer away at the Democrats, repeatedly accusing them of being “socialists”.

“It was freedom, not socialism, that ended slavery [and] won two wars,” Pence said. Make of that what you will, but it’s a line that Republicans seem determined to hammer home as they seek to paint Democrats as unhinged and even vaguely communist. In his own speech, Trump said Americans don’t believe in socialism, “they believe in freedom”. We’ll be hearing that false equivalence a lot on the road to November 2020.

A big crowd in Orlando … but early departures

Trump had said he would fill the Amway Center, which has a capacity of a little under 20,000, and fill it he did. The crowd cheered wildly when he emerged, and his largest applause lines – criticizing the press, making false claims about wall-building – got big cheers. But Trump spoke for almost an hour and a half, and well before then some people began to trickle out. It would be unwise to read too much into the early departures – it was a long, hot day all round – but for a president whose strength comes from personal magnetism, seeing people leave early isn’t a great sign.

Trump has no plans to turn forward the clock

Much of this speech could have been given two years ago – and some parts four years ago. Launching his re-election campaign in theory gave Trump a chance for a fresh start, and to set new goals for a second term. Instead he seemed happiest when he was discussing Hillary Clinton’s emails – inspiring the “Lock her up!” chant – and talking about his 2016 victory. The address showed that after two and a half years in office, Trump remains fixated on his same grievances – and successes.

It’s the economy …

Trump’s touting of the economy’s success brought big cheers and by most measures, the US economy is doing well. Unemployment is low, and GDP growth – seen as one of the best indicators of an economy’s health – is high. Of course, Trump being Trump, when he did discuss the economy, he falsely claimed the US has the lowest unemployment rate in the history of the country and exaggerated GDP growth. But Trump also got sidetracked from talking up his economic successes (whether they are attributable to him or not), and reverted to common applause lines and attacks. All the warm-up speakers before Trump focused on the economy, and Trump’s campaign strategists would probably prefer him to do the same.

[INSERT: An A- for the U.S. Economy, but Failing Grades for Trump’s Policies
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=147874443]

Immigration will remain an issue

The president attacked Democrats as “unhinged” and blamed their inaction for the situation at the border, claiming that undocumented immigrants are “pouring in”. He also attacked Democrats over sanctuary cities and – as one would expect – brought up the border wall, claiming 400 miles of it will be built by the end of next year. The problem is most of that is only going to replacing existing wall. But will his supporters care?

Trump will also run against the media

Their names might not be on any ballot but it was clear that Trump intends to run against America’s journalists and media organizations as much as any Democrat. He once again singled out the press pen in the middle of the stadium, pointing them out to the crowd, who roundly booed them and chanted “CNN sucks”.

“That is a lot of fake news back there,” Trump said

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/18/trump-2020-campaign-highlights-key-takeaways-what-you-need-to-know-re-election-launch

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Project Alamo

"Project Alamo" was a database of voter information created for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and an associated fundraising and political advertising operation on social media platforms. It was organized by the Giles-Parscale firm in San Antonio, Texas. The campaign paid Giles-Parscale as much as $94 million for fundraising, political advertising, and digital media services, including the creation of Trump's web site. A new database of voter information named "Project Alamo" was at the heart of Giles-Parscale's efforts, allowing highly targeted advertising on social media platforms. The advertising campaigns added to the database over time, driving more effective targeting. The scale of the fundraising and political advertising campaigns on social media was massive, with hundreds of thousands of targeted ads being delivered daily. Project Alamo has been credited[by whom?] as an important factor in Trump's 2016 victory..[1][2][3][4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Alamo

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Jared Kushner has been meeting with Trump campaign officials to discuss 2020 fundraising and spending strategy

Published Wed, Jul 17 2019 5:19 PM EDT

Brian Schwartz
@schwartzbCNBC

Key Points

* President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is also a senior White House advisor, is regularly giving
counsel to 2020 Trump campaign leaders on how to appeal to online donors and where to spend their money.

* Kushner and campaign chief Brad Parscale regularly hold strategy sessions on how to improve messaging
about Trump’s accomplishments to small-dollar donors, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.

* Kushner also has pushed for the campaign to spend more money on the digital
fundraising operation rather than relying on more traditional methods such as mailers.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/17/trump-son-in-law-jared-kushner-huddled-last-week-with-trump-campaign.html

See also:

Secret Memo Warned Donald Trump Data Firm About Breaking U.S. Law | The Beat With Ari Melber | MSNBC
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=139577538

Dale C, Why fear is more prevalent — and powerful — among conservatives
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=139663627