‘They Find A Way To Rationalize’: Republican Group’s Anti-Trump Attack Ads ‘Ineffective,’ Memo Admits

A conservative political action committee (PAC) seeking an alternative to former President Donald Trump in 2024 admitted that its attack ads have been “ineffective” in changing voters’ minds, according to a Thursday memo obtained by The New York Times.

Win It Back PAC, led by Club for Growth President David McIntosh, has spent roughly $6 million on over 40 anti-Trump ads in key early nominating states Iowa and South Carolina, as well as nationwide, according to the memo. The PAC found that its ads weren’t able to change voters’ opinion of the former president and failed to consolidate support around another Republican candidate.

“All attempts to undermine his conservative credentials on specific issues were ineffective, regardless of the setting (live surveys , online surveys , focus groups , controlled experiments),” McIntosh wrote in the memo. “Even when you show video to Republican primary voters with complete context of President Trump saying something otherwise objectionable to primary voters, they find a way to rationalize and dismiss it.”

The PAC maintains it will continue to create and test ads as the large GOP primary field begins to narrow, according to the memo.

“President Trump will be the nominee and there is nothing that anybody can do to stop that,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “It’s time for everyone to rally behind President Trump so he can beat Crooked Joe Biden and retake the White House.”

In Iowa and South Carolina, Trump is ahead by over 30 points, according to the RealClearPolitics (RCP) average based on the most recent polling.

The RCP average for a 2024 national Republican primary, based on polls conducted between Sept. 13 and Sept. 26, indicates Trump is leading the field by over 40 points, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 14.4%, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley at 5.8%, conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy at 5.1% and former Vice President Mike Pence at 4.2%. All other GOP hopefuls garnered less than 3% support.

Win It Back PAC did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.