President Trump’s new campaign manager is seeking to better define the president’s message, concentrate more on key battleground states and target advertising dollars at early voters.
Photo: nicholas kamm/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON—President Trump’s campaign has hundreds of millions of dollars, a small army of staffers and the power of incumbency. But as he seeks to turn his re-election bid around, he is racing the clock.
With 90 days until Election Day and weeks until the early voting process starts in some states, the president’s campaign is trying to refocus as he trails presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in national and swing-state polls. Newly minted campaign manager Bill Stepien is seeking to better define the president’s message, concentrate more on key battleground states and target advertising dollars at early voters.
“We’re going to run like we’re the underdog. We’re going to run like we’re two points behind, even if and when we’re two points ahead. That’s the mentality we’re going to have, that’s the mindset we have over the next three months of this campaign,” Mr. Stepien said on Fox News Monday.
The campaign efforts follow a push to get Mr. Trump to offer a more somber, clear message on the coronavirus, which aides and allies see as key to stabilizing his standing with voters, which has been battered by public frustration with the response to the pandemic and widespread protests over racial injustice. Mr. Trump has been inconsistent in his coronavirus messaging, at times criticizing his own health advisers and arguing with reporters during interviews and press conferences over whether the crisis is improving.
‘We’re going to run like we’re the underdog,’ said campaign manager Bill Stepien.
Photo: Andrew Harnik/Associated PressWhile those close to the president argue that their internal polling is more encouraging than the public numbers and that there is time to get on the right track, some privately acknowledge the window is narrowing to course correct. Absentee ballots will be mailed out in North Carolina starting on Sept. 4, and other states follow close behind.
“They need to be very disciplined and on message for the next 90 days. Those are two things Trump is not particularly good at,” said Republican strategist Alex Conant.
After briefly pausing advertising for a strategic review, the Trump campaign launched two news ads in Arizona, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina on Monday. One of the ads argues that Mr. Biden “has embraced the policies of the radical left.” The other features a woman holding up a series of cue cards detailing her concerns about Mr. Biden’s policies, including that they could raise taxes.
“The 2020 calendar looks a lot different than the 2016 calendar,” said campaign adviser Jason Miller, who said the campaign wanted to push the president’s vision for a second term, which includes a secure country with a revitalized economy, and contrast it with Mr. Biden’s proposals. “These are all things that Americans will be thinking about as they keep voting.”
People with knowledge of the campaign said that emphasizing Mr. Biden’s ties to the most liberal wing of the party would continue to be a leading attack, arguing that this would resonate with moderate voters. Questioning his mental fitness for office would also be revived, a person said.
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Biden spokesman Andrew Bates dismissed those charges, declaring that “the Trump campaign is locked in a sad and pathetic cycle of bimonthly, shambolic message resets—all of which are based on the same recycled lies that voters have seen through countless times before.”
As part of his efforts, Mr. Stepien has been closely focused on the president’s pathway to 270 Electoral College votes. People close to the campaign said that while there would continue to be campaigning in a large set of states, there would be a more concentrated effort on a series of battlegrounds in the closing days, including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida, North Carolina and Arizona—all of which Mr. Trump won in 2016.
Michigan is increasingly viewed as harder to hold, though the campaign still has resources in the state. Minnesota, New Hampshire and Georgia will also remain a focus.
The campaign is also pushing for additional debates, arguing that voting will be well under way by the first one in late September. Mr. Bates said that Mr. Biden has already made clear that he will participate in debates “on the dates and in the locations chosen by the Presidential Commission on Debates.” The commission has proposed three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate.
The campaign, the Republican National Committee and their joint committees ended June with $295 million in cash. A lot of that will go to television advertising, with some dollars on direct mail and digital advertising, said people familiar with the plans.
President Trump at a coronavirus briefing on Monday. Aides see his offering a more somber, clear message on the coronavirus as key to stabilizing his standing with voters.
Photo: jonathan ernst/ReutersIn the coming weeks, the president is expected to continue the kind of travel he has conducted recently, heading to battleground states for an official White House appearance coupled with a political event or a fundraiser. A person with knowledge of the campaign said there were also talks about Mr. Trump making more political stops in the coming days.
While he has canceled the Jacksonville, Fla., portion of the convention, the president still plans to make a speech accepting the nomination on Aug. 27, but the location hasn’t been finalized.
“I’ll probably do mine live from the White House,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday morning on Fox News, calling it the “easiest and least expensive” location—but an acceptance speech from the White House could also open the president up to criticism because campaign activity is not normally carried out on the White House grounds.
Convention organizers are also working out a program of speeches and events for the nights ahead, which is expected to prominently feature the president’s family as it did in 2016.
A key part of the strategy is the effort from aides to get Mr. Trump to change his rhetoric on the coronavirus. He has restarted his daily briefings about the response, delivering data from the White House briefing room and urging the public to wear masks and practice social distancing. He also cancelled the bulk of the Republican National Convention, citing the need to set an example.
Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said sticking to this message is key.
“The best way to move the numbers comes from the White House and not the campaign,” he said. “The president needs to demonstrate that he’s on top of the virus and he cares about its impact.”
Aides have been largely pleased with his response, though at times he has veered off course, as he did this week when he publicly attacked Dr. Deborah Birx, one of his top health advisers. A person with knowledge of the president’s thinking said he feels better about the current strategy from the White House and the campaign.
Since taking over the campaign several weeks ago, Mr. Stepien has also made some changes around the office, holding weekly staff meetings and daily sessions with senior aides, arranging data briefings for staffers on strategy and polling, and giving out “Staffer of the Week” awards, said a campaign official.
Write to Catherine Lucey at catherine.lucey@wsj.com
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