Former President Donald Trump’s campaign launched its first Snapchat digital advertisement of the 2024 election cycle this week, marking a late entry onto the Gen Z and millennial focused platform with just days remaining until the 2024 election.
The social media move comes after Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has maintained a significant presence on the platform since March. Before withdrawing from the race in July, President Joe Biden had invested almost $1.5 million in Snapchat advertising.
Snap reports having more than 100 million users in the United States, with approximately 80 percent being of voting age, representing a significant potential voter base for both Republican and Democratic campaigns.
One of the new ads feature Trump with an onscreen graphic asking, “Who needs to vote?” followed by him pointing at the viewer with a thumbs-up gesture. The ad comes from a viral moment when Trump and running mate JD Vance visited a memorial in New York City for victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The timing reflects a stark contrast in digital strategy between the two campaigns.
While the Harris campaign has invested $7.8 million in Snapchat advertising since March, Trump’s team is only now entering the space. This represents a shift from 2020 when the Trump campaign spent $268,000 on Snapchat ads and began consistent advertising in late August of that year according to NBC News.
The former president’s limited presence on Snapchat follows the platform’s ban of his personal account after the January 6, 2021, Capitol Riots. While this ban remains in effect, Snap has maintained that Trump’s campaign is permitted to purchase political advertisements, subject to internal fact-checking protocols.
Harris has used the largely uncontested space to highlight Trump’s anti-abortion record and position herself as a candidate for the future.
Several of her ads feature her campaign theme song, Beyoncé’s “Freedom,” while others take the form of “back-to-school assignments,” encouraging college-aged voters to research Trump’s policies.
Unlike other major tech platforms, Snap has not lifted the ban on Trump’s personal account, which has drawn angry pushback from his campaign.
Newsweek contacted Trump and Harris’ campaigns via email on Saturday for comment.
In July, the Trump campaign publicly criticized Snap after the company offered to sell advertising while maintaining its ban on the former president’s personal account.
Trump’s campaign expressed its frustration on X, accusing Big Tech of favoring Harris. However, X CEO Elon Musk endorsed Trump following an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The former Democrat switched political sides, pouring millions into his pro-Trump committee America PAC.
Trump has focused on reaching younger male audiences through interviews with popular online personalities, including appearances on shows like the Nelk Boys and Joe Rogan. The former president has also embraced TikTok, joining the popular platform this year despite previously expressing concerns about its Chinese ownership.
The scale of political spending on Snapchat remains relatively small compared to other tech platforms like Facebook and Google, where both presidential campaigns are investing tens of millions of dollars.
The disparity in Snapchat spending also reflects a broader pattern in digital advertising, with Harris’ campaign maintaining higher overall online ad spending supported by stronger fundraising numbers.
Recent Pew Research Center data shows that Snapchat’s user base includes both conservative and liberal voices, with 51 percent of users identifying as Democratic or leaning that way, compared with 41 percent who favor Republicans.
Snapchat’s user base is 60 percent female, according to Pew’s findings. Larger platforms like Facebook and YouTube tend to lean more conservative and male, making them more favorable territory for Trump’s campaign.
Harris’ campaign has leveraged Snapchat’s visual format effectively. One of her most viewed ads loops clips of Trump discussing abortion rights alongside news headlines about restrictions.
Another ad contrasts Trump’s mugshot with Harris’ career progression, while a third features her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, warning students about The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 plans.
With the election showing tight margins in polls, both campaigns have intensified their efforts to reach Gen Z and millennial voters who primarily consume news through social media rather than traditional outlets.
