Democrats launch Lunar New Year ads hitting Trump on tariffs, immigration

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the campaign arm of House Democrats, is rolling out a four-figure digital advertising effort this week across 18 competitive House districts, attacking Trump and Republicans on tariff policies and immigration enforcement ahead of Tuesday’s Lunar New Year celebrations.

A timely message: Three cartoon-style ads will appear on Facebook and Instagram, with two centered on economic concerns and one on immigration. The first spot depicts relatives handing red envelopes to a child for the Lunar New Year, with an adult saying Trump’s tariffs have strained the family budget. In the second, a mother tells her daughter they must skip buying dumplings and rice cakes because bills have strained their budget. Finally, the immigration ad shows two people seated at a table set for eight, viewing television coverage about hundreds of Asian ICE detainees, captioned “Family reunions don’t look the same this year.”

In a statement, DCCC National AANHPI Engagement Director Sarah Lin said, “AAPI communities across the country deserve much better than reckless tariffs, skyrocketing prices and GOP-backed policies that make it harder for families to thrive.”

Driving the news: The advertising push comes as Democrats work to win back Asian American voters who shifted toward Republicans in 2024, narrowing the party’s advantage from Biden’s 40-point margin in 2020 to Harris’ 17-point edge. Political conditions have turned increasingly unfavorable for Trump, with his overall job approval sitting at 37% one year into his second term and support among Asian Americans collapsing from 57% last July to just 26% by September.

More specifically, opposition to the president’s immigration approach among Asian Americans jumped from 58% in March 2025 to roughly 70% by fall. That shift coincides with intensified enforcement as federal arrests of Asian individuals more than tripled between 2024 and 2025. Door-to-door operations in Minnesota, for instance, have employed racial profiling, with agents requesting residents identify neighbors by ethnicity.

The big picture: The ads highlight genuine economic pressures in Asian American communities, where businesses often rely heavily on imported specialty goods. In the past year, tariff policies have driven average price increases of 50% at Chinatown businesses, with certain importers now paying levies reaching 30% on Chinese goods. Grace Meng, who chairs the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), said “costs have skyrocketed due to his tariffs,” putting small business owners in an “impossible choice” between raising prices or shuttering operations.

Beyond tariffs, the president’s decision to end the de minimis exemption could add $10.9 billion in expenses for American households, hitting minority and lower-income families hardest. These compounding policies create particular vulnerabilities for Asian American voters, a demographic Democrats are actively courting.