Do you guys actually read the article? His campaign did not abandon the state.
It says he cancelled ads from 09/08 - 09/14. They did so, likely, because “ early voting doesn’t begin until Oct. 7.” They want to air the ads at a time closer to voting.
Also:
For the week beginning Sept. 15, the Trump campaign has reserved an estimated $580,000 in the Phoenix market. The following week, beginning Sept. 22, nearly $1 million in advertising time has been reserved. There are no apparent reservations for the seven days beginning Sept. 29, but the campaign has about $900,000 reserved beginning Oct. 6.
With where Trump is in the race (still has a shot, but the window is closing), he needs to be hammering the airwaves. He doesn't absolutely need AZ and MI, but letting those slip from his grasp make his path to re-election much harder.
Assuming all things otherwise remain the same from 2016 (and ignoring a tie scenario), losing Arizona and Michigan means he must sweep FL, PA, NC, and GA to stay in office (winning these plus losing WI would result in a tie depending on NE-02).
