Harris Campaign Unveils Ads Linking Trump to Project 2025 Around His Mar-a-Lago Estate
WASHINGTON — The presidential campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris has kicked off a new wave of television and digital advertisements, aiming to alert the public about the conservative agenda outlined in Project 2025.
The campaign particularly hopes that one notable viewer will notice.
These ads are set to run in seven key battleground states, but they are especially targeted for the Palm Beach-Fort Pierce media market in Florida, in the hopes that former President Donald Trump might see them while watching television at his Mar-a-Lago estate.
“Donald Trump’s back, and he’s looking to regain control, and he has a strategy to do just that. It’s called Project 2025,” a narrator declares in the ad, featuring footage of Trump stating, “I would have every right to go after them” and “I will wield that power very aggressively.”
This ad, which won’t air in other parts of Florida, describes Project 2025 as a “922-page blueprint designed to make Donald Trump the most powerful president ever.”
Project 2025, developed by the conservative Heritage Foundation, includes controversial measures such as dismantling the Department of Education, restricting access to abortion medication, restructuring the FBI, and reinstating a Trump executive order that allows the president to replace federal civil servants with political appointees.
The Trump campaign has worked diligently to distance itself from Project 2025. Trump claimed he has “no idea who is behind” it. However, the initiative was created by over 100 former officials from the Trump administration, with Paul Dans, who served as chief of staff in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management during Trump’s presidency, directing it.
The Palm Beach market, where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago is located, is also a recent target for Trump campaign advertisements, which appear to be aimed at ensuring he sees them. This week, the Trump campaign reserved $48,000 in advertising there, a modest figure in the realm of political ads, according to AdImpact, which monitors ad spending.
“Florida is solidly Republican turf, but we won’t underestimate any state,” Trump spokesperson Brian Hughes stated. “We have strong campaign teams nationwide and will continue to invest widely.”
The new advertisements from the Harris campaign regarding Project 2025 are a part of a larger strategy, with $370 million allocated for advertising between Labor Day and Election Day, which is on November 5.
Despite not being among the top seven battleground states— including Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, and North Carolina—Florida is still a state the Harris campaign is focusing on, especially with a proposed ballot amendment ensuring abortion access, which could make the state competitive.
A recent YSL News/Suffolk University/WSVN-TV poll indicated that Trump is leading Harris in Florida among likely voters, 47% to 42%. In the 2020 election, President Biden lost Florida to Trump by 3.3%. The last time a Democrat won Florida was Barack Obama in 2012.
Contact Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison.