Trump's troubled campaign calls off $4.5 million in ad buys in key battleground states

President Donald Trump's campaign called off $4.5 million in ad buys in some key battleground states, as Joe Biden expands his purchasing.

The Trump campaign has cut back on TV ads in all but three battleground states -- Arizona, Florida and Georgia -- and disappeared from the airwaves in Iowa and Ohio, reported Bloomberg.

To make up for those cuts, the Trump campaign is relying on local news coverage of the president's rallies and visits from his children and other surrogates, according to three campaign officials.

His visit to Las Vegas earlier this month was worth more than $5 million in advertising, one official said, but some strategists question how valuable that coverage actually is to the campaign.

“You may be all over the local news, but when your candidate is saying that COVID affects hardly anybody, have you bought a negative ad for Joe Biden, or a negative ad for yourself?” said GOP campaign veteran Reed Galen, who now leads the anti-Trump Lincoln Project.

Biden, on the other hand, has invested $16 million more into 13 states and districts to expand his chances of reaching 270 electoral votes.

The Trump campaign has spent about 79 percent of the money it's raised, with legal fees, salaries and unusual expenses -- such as a fireworks display at the Republican National Convention -- soaking up much of their funds.