Trump steals the show from 2020 Democrat candidates with top YouTube ads

"More people will see this ad placement than will watch tonight's debate"

Donald Trump has bought some of the web's most prime real estate to fundraise for his 2020 re-election campaign - apparently hoping to capitalise on two nights of Democratic debate.

Campaign ads currently appear across YouTube's homepage masthead, a few hours before the site livestreams tonight's Democratic debate.

"At 9pm tonight [the debate start time] my campaign team is bringing me an updated list of my supporters," Trump says in one ad. "I hope I'll see your name on the list." The ad then ask supporters to send a text message to a phone number to be added to the list.

Another video shows images of terrorists and migrants, followed by images of Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi while a voice is saying: “Drugs, terrorists, violent criminals and child traffickers trying to enter our country. But Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer care more about the radical left than keeping us safe. The consequences? Drug deaths. Violent murder. Gang violence.”

The progressive digital agency Acronym tweeted earlier on Wednesday: "More people will see this ad placement than will watch tonight's debate."

YouTube offers ads on a cost-per-thousand basis, so it is unclear how much Trump spent to get this primetime spot. The Trump campaign did not respond to The Independent about how much it spent on this ad placement.

Daniel Scarvalone, senior director of research and data at Bully Pulpit Interactive, told VICE News that his strategy firm, that works with Democrat clients, has spent between $500,000 and $1 million on such ad placements.

There are other platforms on which people can watch tonight's debate, including, NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo.

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