FOX News Channel's Top Advertiser: Trump

Donald Trump’s reelection campaign was the biggest 2020 national advertiser on Fox News, spending nearly $22 million on his losing effort for a second term, the most of anyone on the three major cable news networks, according to Forbes citing data from AdImpact.

The Trump For President Campaign also spent $2.65 million on ads on CNN, the third-biggest, and $708,334 with MSNBC. Fox News and Trump were so close for most of the Trump administration that the line between the two was often blurred. Opinion hosts such as Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson reportedly were unofficial advisers to the former reality show star.

According to the Washington Post, Trump took credit for the network’s lead in the TV ratings and took any perceived slights from Fox personally. The Conservative-leaning network angered Trump when it made an early and accurate that call Democrat Joe Biden won Arizona.

“Trump demanded an unattainable level of loyalty from the network,” the newspaper says. “ His reelection campaign at one point asked for a bulk discount advertising deal. Fox said no, noting that everyone has to pay the same rates, according to two people familiar with the exchange — leaving Trump extremely unhappy with Fox.”

Trump’s supporters also spent heavily on Fox. Judicial Crisis pushed Trump’s nomination of conservative Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court to replace the deceased Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the court’s leading liberals. Judicial Crisis spent $2.4 million on Fox, and $507,000 on CNN. Trump’s Campaign Manager Brad Parscacle was one of the founders of America First Policies, which favors Trump’s Border Wall and rolling back government regulations. The non-profit spent $1.58 million on Fox commercials, according to AdImpact.

Biden’s campaign spent $7.4 million on Fox News, second only to the Trump campaign. Biden for President was CNN’s top advertiser, buying $7.3 million worth of spots and spent $71,400 on MSNBC. Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s short-lived campaign bought $2.9 million worth of CNN ads, ranking second, followed by the Trump Campaign, which shelled out $2.6 million on TV spots.

According to The Center for Responsive Politics, total spending on the 2020 elections is expected to top $14 billion, nearly twice as expensive as the 2016 race between Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Television commercials are a small part of campaign advertising spending than online platforms like Facebook and Google. Data from The Center for Responsive Politics shows that the Trump campaign spent more than $127 million on advertisements on Facebook and Google, dwarfing the nearly $70 million the Biden Campaign shelled out.