The Republican National Committee is launching a seven-figure advertising campaign lavishing praise on President Donald Trump for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, as the president confronts a sustained assault from liberal groups over his response to the crisis.

The $1 million-plus digital blitz, which will run across more than a dozen battleground states, is unusual: The committee rarely spends so heavily on advertising so early in an election year. But over the last several weeks, an array of liberal groups has spent millions of dollars on commercials battering Trump. On Thursday, Pacronym, a liberal super PAC, began running a web video hammering the president for initially downplaying the virus.


The RNC’s spots, by contrast, praise the president for his leadership. One spot, for example, spotlights clips of two Democratic governors, Gavin Newsom of California and Andrew Cuomo of New York, crediting Trump for his response.