White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Monday that President Donald Trump will be able to run his own ads, as long as they don’t focus on his alleged ties to Russia.
Sanders made the comments during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” when asked about the President’s decision to end the “vast majority” of ads from his campaign in 2020, which included ads that referenced the former president’s business interests.
“I think that’s absolutely the right approach,” Sanders said.
“I think it’s a great idea.
It’s not the best approach, but I think it works for the President.”
In recent weeks, the White House has been struggling to keep up with a flood of Trump-related ad buys from outside groups.
A group called the “Donald Trump 2020” ad campaign was launched in August, aiming to raise money for the campaign.
The group was criticized for spending too much time and money on ads about the Trump-Russia probe, while not mentioning that the Trump campaign had been accused of illegally influencing the 2016 election.
Last month, the group also paid out a total of $5 million to outside groups, including one called the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to help it raise money.
In a series of interviews on Monday, Sanders said she has been briefed by the White Street Institute, a private research firm that specializes in political ads, on how to ensure that the ad campaign stays out of the political arena.
The group is run by David Brock, who served as a top aide to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and is now an adviser to President Donald J. Trump.
Sanders said that the White Stains have been meeting with the Trump camp to discuss the ad buys.
According to the White Statesman, the ad group is looking for a range of partners to work with to help with the campaign, and that it has been in talks with multiple outside groups to help raise money to help pay for the ads.
Brock said on the show that the President wants to avoid a focus on the President or his ties to Moscow, but that the campaign is focused on his overall agenda and that he wants to “help the country get back on track.”
Sanders was asked about Trump’s recent tweet, which referenced Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “stolen election.”
“What he was referring to is a very important and very consequential vote,” Sanders replied.
Asked by the host whether she would say that Russia had stolen the election, Sanders replied: “The President doesn’t have a crystal ball, so I would just leave that to you.”
