US Politics
Lobbyists have spent over $2M on TV ads in Palm Beach hoping to catch Trump’s attention at Mar-a-Lago
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Lobbyists in Florida have spent around $2 million on cable TV ads in the Palm Beach area in an apparent attempt to catch the attention of Donald Trump.
The president is known to be an avid television watcher, both at home at his Mar-a-Lago residence and during trips to his multiple golf clubs for tournaments.
Analysis of advertising data from AdImpact showed the immense amount of cash being focussed on advertising in West Palm Beach, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that the strategy is often referred to by interest groups as targeting an “audience of one.”
A total of $3.1 million had been spent in the market in the first four months of 2025, compared to $629,000 in the same timeframe in 2023 and $183,000 in 2021, according to the data.
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AdImpact notes that cable makes up 69 percent of the spending (just over $2 million), likely targeting the local Fox News cable networks – the president’s favored outlet.
Both the Journal and Palm Beach Post cite commercials, including one which includes a clip of the president promising cures to cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. The ad is produced by a group with ties to the pharmaceutical industry that are trying to lobby Trump to overturn pricing policy implemented by the Biden administration.
Another, produced by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation – noted to be one of the top advertisers in West Palm Beach – is more direct. “Mr President. Together we can drive innovation and American manufacturing. Let’s do it,” the ad reads.
John Bozzella, the president of the AAI, told the Journal that the commercial was really “intended to reintroduce the new administration to the country’s largest manufacturing sector.”
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On a wider scale, WSJ analysis also showed that since Trump’s return to the Oval Office in January, more than a dozen groups pushing national issues had bought broadcast and cable ads only in Washington, D.C., and West Palm Beach, according to AdImpact.
The data shows that overall spending on Fox News has surged in 2025, as advertisers hope to reach Trump’s eyes on the network. Through April, Fox News has seen $19.0 million in national spending, representing 69 percent of all national network spending.
The surge in activity in the West Palm Beach market since the president’s return to office means that the area now ranks third among national-issue advertising markets, ahead of much larger metro-centers such as Los Angeles, Dallas and Chicago.
By contrast, before Trump’s return and during the 2024 presidential election, West Palm Beach ranked 40th on the list of areas targeted for national issues-based advertising.
