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Press Releases

LCV Victory Fund, Priorities USA Action Launch Michigan Ad Campaign Revealing Trump’s Anti-Environment Record to ‘Environmental Swing Voters’

May 18, 2020

Contact: Emily Samsel, emily_samsel@lcv.org, 828-713-9647 | Annika Doner, adoner@priorities.org, 313-670-4737

Detroit, MI — LCV Victory Fund and Priorities USA Action today released the first round of Michigan’s high-impact digital ads and unique direct mail in the previously announced $14 million paid media program to expose the truth about Donald Trump’s environmental record to voters in the battleground states of Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. 

WATCH: “Safety”
WATCH: “Consequences”
WATCH: “Believe” 
MAILER: “Danger”

In conjunction with the release of new ads, LCV Victory Fund named Donald Trump the “Dirtiest of All Time” on its 2020 Dirty Dozen list. This unprecedented dishonor is LCV Victory Fund’s first Dirty Dozen announcement this year and coincides with the 50th anniversary of the program. 

“In the fifty-year history of the Dirty Dozen, no elected official has ever posed a bigger risk to our environment and our health than Donald Trump and he clearly deserves the title ‘Dirtiest of All Time,’” said Pete Maysmith, LCV Victory Fund SVP of Campaigns. “Voters need to know that Trump denies the threat of climate change just like he denied the threat of the coronavirus and it’s the public who pays the price. His refusal to listen to the experts, and his prioritizing of corporations over people hurts our communities, especially communities of color and low-income communities.” 

One of the first ads that will run in Michigan, “Safety,” shows how Trump is leaving military families unprotected from toxic PFAS chemicals on military bases and neighboring communities. 

The ad says: “Our military protects us. Their families need protection too. But Donald Trump opposed a law to clean up toxic chemicals in drinking water linked to cancer on military bases and neighboring communities. And we’re only as safe as the water we drink.”

Another ad, “Consequences,” provides a doctor’s perspective on Michigan’s PFAS crisis, that impacts the water of more than 1.9 million residents. The chemicals have been linked to cancer, pregnancy complications, and weakened immune systems — potentially making people more vulnerable to the coronavirus. Donald Trump has opposed plans that would clean up the more than 11,000 potential PFAS sites across Michigan, leaving families at extreme risk.

“Donald Trump’s record on climate is self-serving, reckless, and dangerous,” said Priorities USA Executive Director Patrick McHugh. “Voters deserve to hear the truth about the existential threat that four more years of Trump represents.”

The paid media program in Michigan includes a series of different digital ads and direct mail that use research-driven messaging about Trump’s record on climate, and its links to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the environment, and the damage he’s doing to clean air and drinkable water.

Paid media will be targeted at a total universe of over 380,000 swing voters in Michigan who care about the environment, identified through advanced modeling techniques. 

Scripts for the sample digital ads are below.

“Consequences”
Toxic chemicals that cause cancer are in the water right here
And there are thousands of water danger zones just like it all over Michigan
That put our health at risk
But the plans to clean it up were opposed by Donald Trump
Medical studies show not just links to cancer but pregnancy complications 
And weakened immune systems
That may leave us more vulnerable to the coronavirus
Donald Trump has real consequences for our health

“Safety”
Our military protects us
Their families need protection too
But Donald Trump opposed a law to clean up toxic chemicals in drinking water
Linked to cancer on military bases and neighboring communities
And we’re only as safe as the water we drink

“Believe”
Trump:
‘Global warming — a lot of it’s a hoax, it’s a hoax’
VO:
But 97 percent of climate scientists believe it’s a growing threat
Instead of listening to experts, Donald Trump is firing them 
And stripping evidence from reports
But that won’t make climate change disappear

# # #

Paid for by LCV Victory Fund, www.lcvvictoryfund.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.