American Bridge
March 21, 2019

American Bridge Announces New Board Members, Multimillion Anti-Trump Offensive for 2020

As the Democratic primary ramps up, Democratic super PAC American Bridge is announcing a multimillion-dollar persuasion campaign to take the fight directly to Donald Trump across pivotal states through which the path to 270 will likely run. The campaign will launch while Democratic presidential candidates are rightfully zeroed in on selecting a nominee that can defeat Trump in the fall of 2020, with the understanding that Trump cannot receive a free pass in key states as the Democratic nominating process unfolds.

The heart of this effort will be speaking directly to working class, exurban, and rural voters in swing counties who have a history of supporting Democrats but who either pulled the lever for Trump or stayed home in 2016. While some of these voters are out of reach for Democrats, American Bridge recognizes that winning back a percentage of them or simply convincing others to abandon Trump could seal the outcome of this election. And research indicates this is entirely achievable. For that reason, the second phase of this project will involve forming an entity that is allowed to provide the information guiding the advertising to the eventual Democratic nominee.

To help lead this expanded operation, several new members are joining the board of American Bridge, including:
 
  • Jennifer Granholm, Former Governor of Michigan (Chair)
  • Andrew Gillum, Former Mayor of Tallahassee, Florida
  • Jessica Mackler, Former DCCC IE Director for 2018
  • Ed Rendell, Former Pennsylvania Governor
“Our research, tracking, and rapid response capabilities are unparalleled in all of American politics. We’re now set to leverage our expertise to launch the largest persuasion media effort we’ve ever undertaken with the goal of making Trump a one-term president,” said Bradley Beychok, President of American Bridge. “Donald Trump turned his back on the voters who gave him a lifeline in 2016. We plan to cut it.”
 
Last cycle, American Bridge tracked more than 11,000 events across the country and moving forward, will leverage existing capacity to capture anti-Trump testimonials in key states to launch a storytelling operation that will help discredit Trump in the eyes of his working-class supporters. This effort is in addition to the opposition research that has been compiled over the course of 3 years that will be leveraged for this project. American Bridge plans to target local radio and social media networks as the primary distribution channels for the campaign. The campaign will also be complemented by an earned media and rapid response operation through American Bridge’s existing Trump War Room that was launched in 2017.
 
“While the strongest Democratic field in history brings their messages to primary voters and the American people, we are going to take the fight to Donald Trump, who has sold out hard-working Americans who play by the rules every day that he’s been in office,” said Andrew Gillum, former Mayor of Tallahassee and 2018 Democratic nominee for Governor of Florida. “Donald Trump forced us into a tax giveaway for the rich that rewards international corporations for outsourcing American jobs, turned his back on families suffering from the opioid crisis, pounded communities with his trade war, and is still attacking our access to affordable healthcare. We’re going to ensure accountability finds him in 2020.”  

“Someone needs to take the fight to Donald Trump while Democrats sort out our primary and American Bridge is uniquely positioned to do just that,” said former Pennsylvania Governor, DNC Chair, and Mayor of Philadelphia Ed Rendell.

American Bridge will also remain 100 percent impartial in the Democratic primary, trusting voters to select the best nominee to defeat Donald Trump while concentrating all of our firepower on softening Trump’s support among the constituencies that were essential for him in 2016.