2020 Candidates Using Trump Impeachment to Raise Money on Facebook: Warren, Harris, Trump

On Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House would open an official impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.

While the primary focus may be on the impeachment inquiry itself, a number of 2020 presidential candidates are using it as an opportunity to run ads and raise money—including Trump himself.

Minutes after Pelosi began speaking on Tuesday, Trump’s campaign team sent out a text message to supporters, asking them to join his “Impeachment Defense Team.”

This effort was bolstered by emails, tweets, Facebook ads, and a video Trump shared on Twitter. Trump reportedly raised $1 million within three hours, and he and the RNC raised $5 million in the 24 hours following Pelosi’s announcement.

But that’s not all.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Kamala Harris, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren all began running Facebook ads seeking to monetize the impeachment inquiry.

Biden has run several ads against Trump, including one that refers specifically to Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Zelensky. It reads: “Donald Trump sat in the Oval Office asking a foreign leader to investigate Joe Biden’s family because he knows Joe Biden will make sure he’s a one-term president. Don’t let the President get away with this gross abuse of power. Show your support for Joe Biden today.”

Warren, meanwhile, called for the impeachment inquiry to “move forward with the efficiency and seriousness this crisis requires.” The ad calls for the House to “vote on articles of impeachment—and when it comes to the Senate, I will do what the Constitution requires.”

“Sign up now if you’re with me,” it concludes.

In an ad run by Harris’ campaign, she writes that “Donald Trump has abused his power, obstructed justice, and violated his oath of office. He puts his political interests over our national interest. No one is above the law. He must be impeached.”

It should come as no surprise that billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer, who is perhaps best known for the Need to Impeach campaign that he started prior to launching his own bid for the presidency, has run numerous ads referring to Trump’s impeachment.

Among others is one that reads: “Impeachment is happening. If we can build a grassroots army of Americans to impeach a lawless president, we can build an army to kick corporations out of politics. I’m a candidate who knows how to organize – and win. Join my campaign.”

Other top-polling candidates, including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Mayor Pete Buttigieg did not appear to run any Facebook ads leveraging the impeachment inquiry. All of the aforementioned candidates have expressed explicit support for impeachment, with the exception of Buttigieg.