Trump parts with TV ad maker as firm’s partner goes to Haley

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign has split with its longtime TV ad maker, Jamestown Associates.

One of the firm’s partners has decided to work with a Trump rival in 2024: Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and ambassador to the United Nations who launched her presidential bid on Wednesday. The former president’s campaign, in turn, has decided that it would not renew its relationship with Jamestown, which crafted commercials for Trump during the 2016 and 2020 elections. Trump’s team also used the firm after he left the White House.

“The 2024 Trump campaign is doing many things differently, including moving in a new direction on paid media with fresh energy and new ideas,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.

A Jamestown representative did not respond to a request for comment, nor did spokespeople for Haley. But those familiar with the discussions said that Barney Keller, the consulting firm’s president, had signed on with Haley. Keller arranged to work for Haley independently of Jamestown, staying firewalled off from the rest of the firm during the campaign.

But the Trump campaign was not willing to participate in the arrangement.

The prominent GOP media firm has been in Trump’s orbit since 2016, when it began crafting commercials for the former president’s first campaign. Two Jamestown partners, Larry Weitzner and Jason Miller, were key architects of Trump’s advertising strategy, and Miller joined the campaign as a top adviser.

The Trump-Jamestown partnership carried over to the 2020 election, when the firm cut a series of ads for the reelection campaign, including a pair that aired during the Super Bowl.

Jamestown continued to work for Trump after his unsuccessful reelection bid. And Trump’s 2024 campaign paid the firm more than $30,000 in December to produce videos of the former president speaking direct-to-camera.

Jamestown has a long history in Republican politics, working for candidates across the country and up and down the ballot. The firm worked for a number of GOP candidates during the 2022 midterm election, including Pennsylvania Senate candidate Mehmet Oz, New Hampshire congressional hopeful Matt Mowers and New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr.

Trump has begun filling out his campaign team with top adividers, including Republican operatives Brian Jack, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles. Last week, the Trump campaign also announced that Miller, who left Jamestown in 2017, would be joining the effort.

It remains unclear who will be replacing Jamestown in producing Trump’s 2024 ads.