I spoke to Matthew Knott of the Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald about the state of the race and the implications of the President’s recent diagnosis for his campaign.

Liam Donovan, a Republican lobbyist, says there is “genuine fear” among conservatives about the state of the race just 25 days out from election day.

“We’re running out of known events that can shift things,” he says. “There is a tinge of desperation in every video Trump has put out and the phone interviews he has given.”

Donovan says Trump’s decision not to participate in the second debate was a “power move that backfired” given he, rather than Biden, needs a game-changing development. The final debate, scheduled for October 22, is due to be held just a week-and-a-half before election day.

As well as time, the Trump campaign appears to be running out of money — a stunning development, given it began the year with a huge cash advantage over Biden.

An analysis by Politico this week found that Biden is out-advertising Trump in 72 out of 83 media markets where the campaigns are spending money, including in key states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Biden had the airwaves to himself in Iowa, Ohio, Texas and New Hampshire after the Trump campaign pulled down its advertising in those states, the TV tracking firm Advertising Analytics found.

“It’s an ominous sign,” Donovan says — both for the President and Republican senators in tough re-election fights.

You can read the full piece here.

I spoke to Sam Stein of the Daily Beast about President Trump’s late-breaking embrace of spending as a political tool, what took hum so long, and whether it comes in time to matter.

“It’s a real head scratcher, and one we’ll look back on as a huge mistake,” said GOP strategist Liam Donovan. “I think embracing the populist (and popular) part of the vision he was elected on could have mattered, but we’re well past the point where these desperation heaves can change the trajectory of the race.”

Read the full piece here.

I spoke to NBC News‘ Alex Seitz-Wald about the President’s decision to forgo the second debate after the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that it would switch to a virtual format.

“The president’s threat to walk away from a virtual debate is a power move that seems almost certain to backfire,” said Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist.

“This debate may be the last best opportunity to score a game-changing moment or otherwise hope to impact the trajectory of this race before it’s too late,” he added. “It’s also one of the few remaining speed bumps for Vice President Biden, and Trump would be doing Joe a real favor by letting him off the hook.”

Read the full piece here.

I spoke to Jonathan Nicholson for his MarketWatch piece on the apparent sputtering of COVID relief negotiations in the wake of President Trump’s abrupt announcement that he was walking away from the table.

Liam Donovan, principal with Bracewell LLP’s Policy Resolution Group, said the White House’s lack of focus helped sink the talks.

“The apathy and ambivalence from the White House made for a leadership vacuum that sent GOP members scattering in every direction depending on their individual political calculations. Republicans didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory here, but in the end Donald Trump owns this failure because he had everything to gain, and nothing to lose, ideologically or otherwise. In that sense, the tweet was a fitting coda,” he said in an email.

Read the full piece here.

I spoke to Maggie Haberman of the New York Times about the political opportunity the Trump campaign sees in the President’s COVID diagnosis–and how their strategy has been complicated by his approach.

“With four weeks remaining and nearly four million Americans already casting their votes, it’s awfully late to change perceptions about President Trump or his performance,” said Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist.

“And to the extent voters are open to reassessing their views, the president’s video dispatch from Walter Reed reflected the challenge of what his campaign seeks to do: The initial glimpse of humanity and humility quickly gives way to a rambling monologue that undermines the whole endeavor.”

Read the full piece here.