Trump campaign adds new target audience: Indian Americans

Washington, DC: President Donald Trump’s campaign has launched a five-figure digital ad buy targeting an unlikely voting demographic for Republicans: Indian Americans.

It’s likely the first time a Republican presidential candidate has spent a large amount of money on ads tailored for Indian American voters, according to a Politico report.

The move comes just days after the President flew to India for a political-style rally with over 100,000 cheering fans, earning him wall-to-wall Indian media coverage. Back home though, Trump hasn’t polled well with Indian Americans.

Yet the group represents a growing voting bloc that registers and votes at high rates, making it a desirable target. And Trump’s team thinks its message on tax cuts and illegal immigration, as well as Trump’s friendship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will play well with some Indian Americans said the report.  

The ad campaign began Wednesday on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, streaming services and online publishers, according to a senior campaign official. It will run for two weeks.

One Facebook ad features Trump and first lady Melania Trump standing in front of the famed Taj Mahal.

“Indian Americans are titans of business, masters of the arts and innovate technology like few others,” the ad reads. “Your contributions have strengthened our culture and economy. I will always fight for YOU!”

Another says, “America LOVES India,” and features a photo of Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi together. “Our economies have never been better, and the United States is eager to build a strong partnership with India.”

A third features Modi alone and lists education policies the Trump administration backs, including tax breaks to support private- and religious-school scholarships.

Republicans have been trying for years — with limited success — to make inroads with Indian Americans, one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the United States. Previous campaigns reached out to the Indian American community, largely through in-person events or literature, but likely didn’t purchase ads specific to the community.

“People have changed their minds about voting for Democrats,” said Sampat Shivangi, an Indian American physician from Mississippi who will serve as a delegate for Trump at the Republican National Convention this summer. He predicted Trump could reach at least 60 percent support from Indian Americans.

Shivangi, whom the Trump administration tapped to serve as a member of an advisory board on mental health, said he and seven Indian American physicians will host a breakfast fundraiser with Trump on March 8 at his Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida. A table will cost $20,000.

That year, about 1.2 million Indian Americans were registered to vote, according to Asian American and Pacific Islanders Data. That number is expected to rise to 1.4 million in 2020.  (Source: politico.com)

 

Share this post