The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) are building a massive ground operation to work for President Trump’s reelection this fall, even as the coronavirus pandemic changes how physical campaigning is practiced.
The two organizations announced jointly on Monday that 300 staffers had been hired to join the campaign’s growing field organization, bringing the total number of paid field staffers to around 1,500.
“We have the biggest and best ground game operation ever seen,” Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told The Hill. “We’ve built lasting relationships with voters on the ground that will power President Trump to victory in November. Joe Biden scarcely emerges from his basement, is woefully behind in state organizations and lacks any enthusiasm behind his candidacy.”
Polls show Trump trailing Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, in swing states and nationally.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel told The Associated Press that the campaign’s top target would be disaffected voters who like the president but are unlikely otherwise to participate in presidential elections.
“In an election like this, where it’s going to come down to a few thousand votes in a couple of states, that’s when your ground game matters,” she said.
The Biden campaign and Democratic National Committee did not immediately respond to requests for comment on their hiring.
“In this moment of crisis, Joe Biden’s message is resonating with voters because he has displayed the responsibility and leadership that the American people expect of a president — whereas Donald Trump has careened from failure to failure, undermining the fight against the coronavirus pandemic with his instability and mismanagement while spreading hate to divide our country at a time when we need to come together more than ever,” Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates told the AP.