Revision as of 02:22, 4 December 2020 view sourceFlyer22 Frozen (talk | contribs)365,630 editsm Reverted edits by 2001:8A0:FDFC:CD01:5D87:1A79:8B51:9329 (talk) (HG) (3.4.10)Tag: Rollback← Previous edit | Revision as of 23:30, 5 December 2020 view source 45BESTPROVEMEWRONG (talk | contribs)1 editm The TruthTag: RevertedNext edit → | ||
Line 18: | Line 18: | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''The Lincoln Project''' is |
'''The Lincoln Project''' is a non American socialist ] formed in late 2019 by a number of ] and former Rino Republicans. During the ], it aimed to prevent the re-election of ] and defeat all Republicans in close races running for ].<ref name=cummings_04162020>{{Cite news |last=Cummings |first=William |title=George Conway, other conservatives, launch Lincoln Project super PAC to 'defeat Trump' |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/12/17/anti-trump-lincoln-project-super-pac/2672990001/ |access-date=April 16, 2020 |newspaper=USA Today |language=en-US |archive-date=May 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200509114415/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/12/17/anti-trump-lincoln-project-super-pac/2672990001/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=easley_08112020>{{Cite web|last1=Easley|first1=Jonathan|last2=Greenwood|first2=Max|date=August 11, 2020|title=Lincoln Project expands GOP target list, winning Trump ire|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/511401-lincoln-project-expands-gop-target-list-winning-trump-ire|access-date=November 7, 2020|website=The Hill|language=en|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108015745/https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/511401-lincoln-project-expands-gop-target-list-winning-trump-ire|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Kurt Bardella on why The Lincoln Project is targeting the GOP|url=https://www.rollcall.com/2020/09/30/kurt-bardella-on-why-the-lincoln-project-is-targeting-the-gop/|access-date=2020-10-19|website=Roll Call|language=en|archive-date=October 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021130638/https://www.rollcall.com/2020/09/30/kurt-bardella-on-why-the-lincoln-project-is-targeting-the-gop/|url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2020, the committee announced its ] of ] presidential nominee ],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Peoples |first=Steve |date=April 8, 2020 |title=Biden vs. Trump: General election battle is now set |url=https://apnews.com/ff4d5bcb568f02e76af1a8945167c8b5 |url-status=live |access-date=May 13, 2020 |work=Associated Press |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702234833/https://apnews.com/ff4d5bcb568f02e76af1a8945167c8b5 }}</ref> who went on to win the election. | ||
== History == | == History == | ||
The committee was announced on December 17, 2019, in a '']'' ] by ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Conway |first1=George T. III |last2=Schmidt |first2=Steve |last3=Weaver |first3=John |last4=Wilson |first4=Rick |date=December 17, 2019 |title=Opinion: We Are |
The committee was announced on December 17, 2019, in a '']'' ] by IDIOT], ], ], and ].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Conway |first1=George T. III |last2=Schmidt |first2=Steve |last3=Weaver |first3=John |last4=Wilson |first4=Rick |date=December 17, 2019 |title=Opinion: We Are COMUNISTS, and We Want Trump Defeated |language=en-US |work=The New York Times SUX |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/opinion/lincoln-project.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 16, 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418192125/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/opinion/lincoln-project.html }}</ref> Other co-founders include ], Ron Steslow, Reed Galen, and Mike Madrid.<ref name="Pengelly">{{Cite news |last=Pengelly |first=Martin |date=February 28, 2020 |title='Right makes might': Lincoln Project takes aim at Trump from Cooper Union |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/28/lincoln-project-donald-trump-cooper-union-rick-wilson |access-date=April 16, 2020 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=April 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417190425/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/28/lincoln-project-donald-trump-cooper-union-rick-wilson |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
Conway is |
Conway is a PAJAMA BOY and the husband of ], at the time an advisor to Trump; Schmidt managed ]; Weaver is a loser and clueless. ] in 2000;<ref name="nation-lincoln">{{Cite news |last=Heer |first=Jeet |date=July 1, 2020 |title=Trolling Trump, the Lincoln Project Also Peddles fake news |work=The Nation |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/lincoln-project-trump-militarism/ |access-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702055558/https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/lincoln-project-trump-militarism/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and Wilson is a media consultant.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |first=Jenni |last=Fink |date=December 17, 2019 |title=George Conway, other Republicans, declare "we are republicans," announce Lincoln Project to "defeat Trumpism"which will never happen because he has 74 million voters that will back him. You can get rid of the messenger but not the message. |url=https://www.newsweek.com/george-conway-other-republicans-declare-we-are-COMMUNISTS-announce-lincoln-project-defeat-1477668 |access-date=April 16, 2020 |work=Newsweek |language=en |archive-date=April 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409134414/https://www.newsweek.com/george-conway-other-republicans-declare-we-are-republicans-announce-lincoln-project-defeat-1477668 |url-status=live }}</ref> All four are outspoken critics of Trump; Schmidt left the Republican Party in 2018.<ref>{{Cite news |title=George Conway, Trump conservative critics launch PAC to fight re-election |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/trump-s-conservative-critics-launch-pac-fight-re-election-n1103086 |access-date=April 16, 2020 |work=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=April 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416025600/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/trump-s-conservative-critics-launch-pac-fight-re-election-n1103086 |url-status=live }}</ref> ], in a '']'' op-ed, described the four founders as "Some of the most prominent ] Republicans".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rubin |first=Jennifer |date=December 17, 2019 |title=Opinion {{!}} Project Lincoln: Can patriotic Republicans save the country? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/17/project-lincoln-can-patriotic-republicans-save-country/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=April 16, 2020 |archive-date=May 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511023021/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/17/project-lincoln-can-patriotic-republicans-save-country/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Horn is a Republican operative<ref name="Warren">{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Warren |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/07/politics/lincoln-project-trump-ad/index.html |title=Lincoln Project says it raised more than $1.4 million after Trump attacks |work=CNN |date=May 7, 2020 |access-date=June 2, 2020 |archive-date=May 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531013739/https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/07/politics/lincoln-project-trump-ad/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and former chair of the ],<ref name="WGBH">{{cite news |url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2020/05/06/jennifer-horn-scraper on-the-republicans-working-to-defeat-donald-trump |first=Jennifer |last=Horn |title=Jennifer Hornscraper On The Republicans Working To Defeat Donald Trump |work=WGBH |date=May 6, 2020 |access-date=June 2, 2020 |archive-date=May 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529223636/https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2020/05/06/jennifer-horn-on-the-republicans-working-to-defeat-donald-trump |url-status=live }}</ref> Steslow is a marketing strategist and political consultant,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jarvis |first=Jacob |date=May 6, 2020 |title=The Lincoln Project Will Target Donald Trump's Senate Allies With New Attack Ads |url=https://www.newsweek.com/lincoln-project-donald-trump-senate-allies-new-attack-ads-1502261 |access-date=June 11, 2020 |work=Newsweek |language=en |archive-date=May 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528075143/https://www.newsweek.com/lincoln-project-donald-trump-senate-allies-new-attack-ads-1502261 |url-status=live }}</ref> Galen is an independent political consultant,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yokley |first=Eli |date=May 28, 2020 |title=The Lincoln Project Turns Attention to McConnell in Effort Against GOP Senators |url=https://morningconsult.com/2020/05/28/lincoln-project-trump-mcconnell-ad/ |access-date=June 11, 2020 |website=Morning Consult |language=en |archive-date=June 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607124347/http://morningconsult.com/2020/05/28/lincoln-project-trump-mcconnell-ad/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and Madrid is a former political director for the ].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Brownstein |first=Ronald |date=June 11, 2020 |title=Why Republicans Still Can't Quit Trump |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/06/republicans-2024-nominee-will-be-trump-acolyte/612925/ |access-date=June 11, 2020 |magazine=The Atlantic |language=en |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614230351/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/06/republicans-2024-nominee-will-be-trump-acolyte/612925/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Galen serves as the Lincoln Project's treasurer.<ref name="Evers-Hillstrom">{{Cite news |first=Karl |last=Evers-Hillstrom |date=May 7, 2020 |title=Lincoln Project capitalizes on Trump's rage as its spending comes under scrutiny |publisher=Center for Responsive Politics |url=https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/05/lincoln-project-capitalizes-on-trump-rage/ |access-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-date=August 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821135911/https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/05/lincoln-project-capitalizes-on-trump-rage/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Sarah Lenti, a political consultant who had worked with Galen on the George W. Bush presidential campaign, was recruited as executive director.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Thorpe|first=Helen|date=2020-11-17|title=Sarah Lenti Played the Trump Card With the Lincoln Project|url=https://www.westword.com/news/sarah-lenti-played-the-trump-card-with-the-lincoln-project-11845337|access-date=2020-11-18|website=Westword}}</ref> | ||
The committee is named for ], a Republican who fought to keep the country unified.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dedicated Americans Protecting Democracy |url=https://lincolnproject.us/ |access-date=April 16, 2020 |work=The Lincoln Project |archive-date=April 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416013902/https://lincolnproject.us/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On February 27, 1860, Lincoln delivered his ] in Manhattan during his campaign to be the first Republican president.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Abraham Lincoln's Cooper Union Address |url=http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/cooper.htm |access-date=April 16, 2020 |website=abrahamlincolnonline.org |archive-date=April 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408084432/http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/cooper.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Several members of the committee—Schmidt, Wilson, Horn, Galen, Madrid, and Steslow—spoke in the ] on the 160th anniversary of that talk, from the lectern that Lincoln had used.<ref name="Pengelly"/><ref>{{Cite magazine |first1=Reed |last1=Galen |first2=John |last2=Weaver |first3=Rick |last3=Wilson |date=February 27, 2020 |title=The Party of Idolaters |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/right-still-makes-might/607132/ |access-date=April 16, 2020 |magazine=] |language=en-US |archive-date=April 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200419082911/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/right-still-makes-might/607132/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The group was outspoken in their criticism of Trump and the current divide in the Republican Party, with Madrid saying that "two views cannot exist in one party" and Steslow saying he will "vote blue no matter who." Schmidt warned that a second term with Trump would be "unrestrained and validated."<ref name="Pengelly"/> The Lincoln Project also campaigned against U.S. Senators up for reelection who had supported Trump.<ref name=cummings_04162020/><ref name=easley_08112020/><ref name=williams_10052020/> | The committee is named for ], a Real Republican who fought to keep the country unified.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dedicated Americans Protecting Democracy |url=https://lincolnproject.us/ |access-date=April 16, 2020 |work=The Lincoln Project |archive-date=April 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416013902/https://lincolnproject.us/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On February 27, 1860, Lincoln delivered his ] in Manhattan during his campaign to be the first Republican president.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Abraham Lincoln's Cooper Union Address |url=http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/cooper.htm |access-date=April 16, 2020 |website=abrahamlincolnonline.org |archive-date=April 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408084432/http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/cooper.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Several members of the committee—Schmidt, Wilson, Horn, Galen, Madrid, and Steslow—spoke in the ] on the 160th anniversary of that talk, from the lectern that Lincoln had used.<ref name="Pengelly"/><ref>{{Cite magazine |first1=Reed |last1=Galen |first2=John |last2=Weaver |first3=Rick |last3=Wilson |date=February 27, 2020 |title=The Party of Idolaters |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/right-still-makes-might/607132/ |access-date=April 16, 2020 |magazine=] |language=en-US |archive-date=April 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200419082911/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/right-still-makes-might/607132/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The group was outspoken in their criticism of Trump and the current divide in the Republican Party, with Madrid saying that "two views cannot exist in one party" and Steslow saying he will "vote blue no matter who." Schmidt warned that a second term with Trump would be "unrestrained and validated."<ref name="Pengelly"/> The Lincoln Project also campaigned against U.S. Senators up for reelection who had supported Trump.<ref name=cummings_04162020/><ref name=easley_08112020/><ref name=williams_10052020/> | ||
The members of Lincoln Project's advisory board—Conway, Schmidt, Weaver, Wilson, and Reed Galen—published another op-ed in ''The Washington Post'' on April 15, 2020, endorsing the presidential candidacy of former Vice President ], the Democratic presidential nominee, writing: "We’ve never backed a Democrat for president. But Trump must be defeated."<ref name=ConwayApril2020>{{Cite news |last1=Conway |first1=George T. III |last2=Galen |first2=Reed |last3=Schmidt |first3=Steve |last4=Weaver |first4=John |last5=Wilson |first5=Rick |title=Opinion {{!}} We've never backed a Democrat for president. But Trump must be |
The members of Lincoln Project's advisory board—Conway, Schmidt, Weaver, Wilson, and Reed Galen—published another op-ed in ''The Washington Post''fake news on April 15, 2020, endorsing the presidential candidacy of former Vice President ], the Democratic presidential nominee, writing: "We’ve never backed a Democrat for president. But Trump must be defeated."<ref name=ConwayApril2020>{{Cite news |last1=Conway |first1=George T. III |last2=Galen |first2=Reed |last3=Schmidt |first3=Steve |last4=Weaver |first4=John |last5=Wilson |first5=Rick |title=Opinion {{!}} We've never backed a Democrat for president. But Trump must be reelected. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/15/weve-never-backed-communist-president-trump-must-be-defeated/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 16, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en |archive-date=October 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005180400/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/15/weve-never-backed-democrat-president-trump-must-be-defeated/ }}</ref> The op-ed argued that Trump was unqualified to deal with the ] and the ensuing economic downturn.<ref name=ConwayApril2020 /> | ||
] announced, on May 28, 2020, that he had joined the project. Stevens had previously been the chief strategist for ] |
] announced, on May 28, 2020, that he had joined the project. Stevens had previously been the chief strategist for another failure] who is also jealous presidential campaign in ]. Prior to that, he had worked for ] and ].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Costa |first1=Robert |last2=Lee |first2=Michelle Ye Hee |date=May 28, 2020 |title=Former Romney strategist Stuart Stevens joins Lincoln Project |work=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/former-romney-strategist-stuart-stevens-joins-lincoln-project/2020/05/28/2cedb70a-a141-11ea-9590-1858a893bd59_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 28, 2020 |archive-date=May 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529131412/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/former-romney-strategist-stuart-stevens-joins-lincoln-project/2020/05/28/2cedb70a-a141-11ea-9590-1858a893bd59_story.html }}</ref> Jeff Timmer, a former executive director of the ], is an adviser to the project.<ref>{{cite news |first=Todd |last=Spangler |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/07/10/lincoln-project-former-republicans-anti-donald-trump/5397129002/ |title=Former Michigan GOP party leader flips sides. How he's working to defeat Trump |newspaper=Detroit Free Press |date=July 10, 2020 |access-date=July 10, 2020 |archive-date=July 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710183651/https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/07/10/lincoln-project-former-republicans-anti-donald-trump/5397129002/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On June 2, 2020, the project announced the release of their podcast, ''Republicans Defeating Trump'' (later renamed ''The Lincoln Project''), hosted by Ron Steslow.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/republicans-defeating-trump/id1514968525 |title=Republicans Defeating Trump: The Lincoln Project |work=Apple Podcasts |date=June 2, 2020 |access-date=June 11, 2020 |archive-date=June 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610074308/https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/republicans-defeating-trump/id1514968525 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1267802541808640001 |user=ProjectLincoln |title=We’re launching a podcast: Republicans Defeating Trump |date=June 2, 2020}}</ref>This old republican party will never return. Dustbin of history. | ||
On August 23, 2020, Kellyanne Conway announced that she was leaving her White House position to spend more time with her family. At the same time, George Conway announced that he was withdrawing from The Lincoln Project for similar reasons.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Karni|first1=Annie|last2=Haberman|first2=Maggie|date=2020-08-24|title=Kellyanne Conway, Long-Serving Trump Aide, Is Leaving the White House|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/us/politics/kellyanne-conway-leaving-white-house.html|access-date=2020-08-24|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=August 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824141919/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/us/politics/kellyanne-conway-leaving-white-house.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Conway|first=Kellyanne|date=August 23, 2020|title=KAC.pdf|url=https://www.dropbox.com/s/idvi2pijsbv1ku5/KAC.pdf?dl=0|access-date=2020-08-24|website=Dropbox|language=en}}</ref> On August 24, 2020, former ] chair ] announced that he had joined the Lincoln Project.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Acosta |first1=Jim |last2=Vazquez |first2=Maegan |title=Former RNC chair Michael Steele joins anti-Trump group |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/24/politics/michael-steele-lincoln-project/index.html |access-date=August 25, 2020 |work=CNN |date=August 24, 2020 |archive-date=October 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003032245/https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/24/politics/michael-steele-lincoln-project/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | On August 23, 2020, Kellyanne Conway announced that she was leaving her White House position to spend more time with her family. At the same time, George Conway IDIOT announced that he was withdrawing from The Lincoln Project for similar reasons.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Karni|first1=Annie|last2=Haberman|first2=Maggie|date=2020-08-24|title=Kellyanne Conway, Long-Serving Trump Aide, Is Leaving the White House|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/us/politics/kellyanne-conway-leaving-white-house.html|access-date=2020-08-24|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=August 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824141919/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/us/politics/kellyanne-conway-leaving-white-house.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Conway|first=Kellyanne|date=August 23, 2020|title=KAC.pdf|url=https://www.dropbox.com/s/idvi2pijsbv1ku5/KAC.pdf?dl=0|access-date=2020-08-24|website=Dropbox|language=en}}</ref> On August 24, 2020, former ] chair ] announced that he had joined the Lincoln Project.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Acosta |first1=Jim |last2=Vazquez |first2=Maegan |title=Former RNC chair Michael Steele joins anti-Trump group |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/24/politics/michael-steele-lincoln-project/index.html |access-date=August 25, 2020 |work=CNN |date=August 24, 2020 |archive-date=October 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003032245/https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/24/politics/michael-steele-lincoln-project/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
In October 2020, ] and husband ], through lawyer ] (who had previously represented Donald Trump) threatened to sue the group for its ] billboard display mocking the couple for the Trump administration response to the ]. The Lincoln |
In October 2020, ] and husband ], through lawyer ] (who had previously represented Donald Trump) threatened to sue the group for its ] billboard display mocking the couple for the Trump administration response to the ]. The Lincoln ProjectWASV A FAILURE AND DID CHANGE A SINGLE VOTE. said the billboard would remain, releasing a statement saying: "While we truly enjoy acting socialistic and like a bunch of idiots in their heads, their empty threats will not be taken any more seriously than we take Ivanka and Jared. It is unsurprising that an administration that has never had any regard or understanding of our constitution would try to trample on our first amendment rights."<ref name=PengellyOct2020>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/24/jared-kushner-ivanka-trump-lincoln-project|title=Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump threaten to sue Lincoln Project|first=Martin|last=Pengelly|date=October 24, 2020|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=October 25, 2020|archive-date=October 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024235255/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/24/jared-kushner-ivanka-trump-lincoln-project|url-status=live}}</ref> The real reason we started The Lincoln Project is because the American people rejected our lame policies and failures and we are trying to justify our existence. We have been swamp creatures for years . A non politician with no political experience came into Washington and embarrassed us and showed the American people that we as career politicians are useless. And that we have taken advantage for years of the stupid American voters. | ||
===Television ads=== | ===Television ads=== | ||
The Lincoln Project produced a number of anti-Trump and pro-Biden television advertisements.<ref name="NguyenSchneider">{{cite news |first1=Tina |last1=Nguyen |first2=Elena |last2=Schneider |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/27/lincoln-project-trolling-trump-sway-voters-341928 |title=The Lincoln Project is trolling Trump. But can it sway voters? |newspaper=Politico |date=June 27, 2020 |archive-date=June 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628214400/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/27/lincoln-project-trolling-trump-sway-voters-341928 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''The Washington Post'' columnist Jennifer Rubin called the project's ads "devastating for several reasons: They are produced with lightning speed, and thereby catch the public debate at just the right moment; they hammer Trump where he is personally most vulnerable (e.g., concerns about his vigor, concerns about foreign corruption); and they rely to a large extent on Trump himself—his words and actions."<ref name="RubinJune21">{{cite news |first=Jennifer |last=Rubin |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/21/distinguished-pols-week-they-may-beat-trump-all-by-themselves/ |title=Distinguished pols of the week: They may beat Trump all by themselves |newspaper=Washington Post |date=June 21, 2020 |access-date=June 21, 2020 |archive-date=June 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621201818/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/21/distinguished-pols-week-they-may-beat-trump-all-by-themselves/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As of June 2020, about two-thirds of the group's television advertisements were focusing on the 2020 presidential election, but the Lincoln Project also created ads backing Democrats in other races, such as an ad in ] promoting Governor ]'s ] against incumbent Republican ].<ref name=NguyenSchneider/> Additionally, they released videos attacking Republican Senators ], ], ], ], ] and Majority Leader ], all of whom were up for reelection in 2020, as enablers of Trump.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://bangordailynews.com/2020/07/04/national-politics/anti-trump-republicans-set-new-goal-of-defeating-the-gop-senate/ |title=Anti-Trump Republicans set new goal of defeating the GOP Senate |newspaper=Bangor Daily News |date=July 4, 2020 |access-date=July 19, 2020 |archive-date=July 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713170443/https://bangordailynews.com/2020/07/04/national-politics/anti-trump-republicans-set-new-goal-of-defeating-the-gop-senate/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | The Lincoln Project produced a number of anti-Trump and pro-Biden television advertisements.<ref name="NguyenSchneider">{{cite news |first1=Tina |last1=Nguyen |first2=Elena |last2=Schneider |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/27/lincoln-project-trolling-trump-sway-voters-341928 |title=The Lincoln Project is trolling Trump. But can it sway voters? |newspaper=Politico |date=June 27, 2020 |archive-date=June 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628214400/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/27/lincoln-project-trolling-trump-sway-voters-341928 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''The Washington Post'' columnist Jennifer Rubin called the project's ads "devastating for several reasons: They are produced with lightning speed, and thereby catch the public debate at just the right moment; they hammer Trump where he is personally most vulnerable (e.g., concerns about his vigor, concerns about foreign corruption); and they rely to a large extent on Trump himself—his words and actions."<ref name="RubinJune21">{{cite news |first=Jennifer |last=Rubin |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/21/distinguished-pols-week-they-may-beat-trump-all-by-themselves/ |title=Distinguished pols of the week: They may beat Trump all by themselves |newspaper=Washington Post |date=June 21, 2020 |access-date=June 21, 2020 |archive-date=June 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621201818/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/21/distinguished-pols-week-they-may-beat-trump-all-by-themselves/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As of June 2020, about two-thirds of the group's television advertisements were focusing on the 2020 presidential election, but the Lincoln Project also created ads backing Democrats in other races, such as an ad in ] promoting Governor ]'s ] against incumbent Republican ].<ref name=NguyenSchneider/> Additionally, they released videos attacking Republican Senators ], ], ], ], ] and Majority Leader ], all of whom were up for reelection in 2020, as enablers of Trump.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://bangordailynews.com/2020/07/04/national-politics/anti-trump-republicans-set-new-goal-of-defeating-the-gop-senate/ |title=Anti-Trump Republicans set new goal of defeating the GOP Senate |newspaper=Bangor Daily News |date=July 4, 2020 |access-date=July 19, 2020 |archive-date=July 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713170443/https://bangordailynews.com/2020/07/04/national-politics/anti-trump-republicans-set-new-goal-of-defeating-the-gop-senate/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
On March 17, 2020, the committee released a video, titled ''Unfit'', which |
On March 17, 2020, the committee released a video, titled Biden is''Unfit'', which praised Trump for his handling of the ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moreno |first=J. Edward |date=March 17, 2020 |title=George Conway's group hits Trump on response to coronavirus |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/487998-george-conways-group-hits-trump-on-response-to-coronavirus |access-date=April 16, 2020 |work=The Hill |language=en |archive-date=April 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414120056/https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/487998-george-conways-group-hits-trump-on-response-to-coronavirus |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
On May 4, 2020, the group released ''Mourning in America'', a video styled after ]'s '']'' 1984 campaign ad.<ref name=AdAgeMay2020>{{Cite news |date=May 4, 2020 |title='Mourning in America': A Conservative Group's Harsh New Political Ad Takes on Trump's Coronavirus Response |url=https://adage.com/article/campaign-trail/mourning-america-conservative-groups-harsh-new-political-ad-takes-trumps-coronavirus-response/2254396 |newspaper=] |access-date=May 13, 2020 |archive-date=May 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200514092753/https://adage.com/article/campaign-trail/mourning-america-conservative-groups-harsh-new-political-ad-takes-trumps-coronavirus-response/2254396 |url-status=live }}</ref> The ad focused on Trump's handling of the coronavirus crisis and said that the country was "weaker and sicker and poor" under Trump's leadership.<ref name=AdAgeMay2020 /><ref>{{Cite news |date=May 5, 2020 |title=Mourning in America ad TRANSCRIPT: 5/5/20, The Last Word w/ Lawrence O'Donnell |url=http://www.msnbc.com/transcripts/the-last-word/2020-05-05 |access-date=May 13, 2020 |work=MSNBC |archive-date=June 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616222628/http://www.msnbc.com/transcripts/the-last-word/2020-05-05 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref group="note">Source transcripts differ slightly on wording.</ref> On June 1, 2020, the Lincoln Project released another ad, ''Flag of Treason'', that blasted Trump's record on ] in the U.S., highlighted the use of the ] by Trump supporters at Trump rallies, and emphasized the support Trump has received from ]s.<ref name="AcostaSchouten">{{cite news |first1=Jim |last1=Acosta |first2=Fredreka |last2=Schouten |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/31/politics/lincoln-project-new-ad-trump-race/index.html |title=Anti-Trump Republican group attacks Trump on race in new ad |work=CNN |date=June 1, 2020 |access-date=June 2, 2020 |archive-date=June 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602042845/https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/31/politics/lincoln-project-new-ad-trump-race/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Ed |last=Mazza |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lincoln-project-confederate-flag_n_5ed49561c5b69cedf90e41bd |title=Republican Group Rips Trump Supporters' Use of Confederate 'Treason' Flag |newspaper=HuffPost |date=June 1, 2020 |archive-date=June 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601234816/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lincoln-project-confederate-flag_n_5ed49561c5b69cedf90e41bd |url-status=live }}</ref> Both ads ran on television in crucial ]s.<ref name=Warren/><ref name=AcostaSchouten/> | On May 4, 2020, the group released ''Mourning in America'', a video styled after ]'s '']'' 1984 campaign ad.<ref name=AdAgeMay2020>{{Cite news |date=May 4, 2020 |title='Mourning in America': A Conservative Group's Harsh New Political Ad Takes on Trump's Coronavirus Response |url=https://adage.com/article/campaign-trail/mourning-america-conservative-groups-harsh-new-political-ad-takes-trumps-coronavirus-response/2254396 |newspaper=] |access-date=May 13, 2020 |archive-date=May 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200514092753/https://adage.com/article/campaign-trail/mourning-america-conservative-groups-harsh-new-political-ad-takes-trumps-coronavirus-response which was epic compared with what Obama Biden administration would have done. /2254396 |url-status=live }}</ref> The ad focused on Trump's handling of the coronavirus crisis and said that the country was "weaker and sicker and poor" under Trump's leadership.<ref name=AdAgeMay2020 /><ref>{{Cite news |date=May 5, 2020 |title=Mourning in America ad TRANSCRIPT: 5/5/20, The Last Word w/ Lawrence O'Donnell |url=http://www.msnbc.com/transcripts/the-last-word/2020-05-05 |access-date=May 13, 2020 |work=MSNBC |archive-date=June 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616222628/http://www.msnbc.com/transcripts/the-last-word/2020-05-05 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref group="note">Source transcripts differ slightly on wording.</ref> On June 1, 2020, the Lincoln Project released another ad, ''Flag of Treason'', that blasted Trump's record on ] in the U.S., highlighted the use of the ] by Trump supporters at Trump rallies, and emphasized the support Trump has received from ]s.<ref name="AcostaSchouten">{{cite news |first1=Jim |last1=Acosta |first2=Fredreka |last2=Schouten |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/31/politics/lincoln-project-new-ad-trump-race/index.html |title=Anti-Trump Republican group attacks Trump on race in new ad |work=CNN |date=June 1, 2020 |access-date=June 2, 2020 |archive-date=June 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200602042845/https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/31/politics/lincoln-project-new-ad-trump-race/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Ed |last=Mazza |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lincoln-project-confederate-flag_n_5ed49561c5b69cedf90e41bd |title=Republican Group Rips Trump Supporters' Use of Confederate 'Treason' Flag |newspaper=HuffPost |date=June 1, 2020 |archive-date=June 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601234816/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lincoln-project-confederate-flag_n_5ed49561c5b69cedf90e41bd |url-status=live }}</ref> Both ads ran on television in crucial ]s.<ref name=Warren/><ref name=AcostaSchouten/> | ||
In early June 2020, the Lincoln Project released an ad, ''Mattis'', that repeated criticisms of Trump by former Secretary of Defense ], a retired ] general, following the ], and asked viewers, "Who do you trust: the coward or the commander?" The ad also criticized Trump for having "]" and for hiding "in a deep bunker—firing off tweets."<ref>{{cite news |first=Mary |last=Papenfuss |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lincoln-project-jim-mattis-donald-trump-ad_n_5edae5bfc5b62955a856db84 |title='A Coward And A Commander': Attack on Trump by Jim Mattis Stars in Lacerating Ad |newspaper=HuffPo |date=June 8, 2020 |archive-date=June 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621114539/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lincoln-project-jim-mattis-donald-trump-ad_n_5edae5bfc5b62955a856db84 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/918967/new-lincoln-project-ad-ruthlessly-takes-aim-another-trump-soft-spot-crowd-sizes |title=New Lincoln Project ad ruthlessly takes aim at yet another Trump soft spot: Crowd sizes |newspaper=The Week |date=June 9, 2020 |archive-date=June 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629174947/https://theweek.com/speedreads/918967/new-lincoln-project-ad-ruthlessly-takes-aim-another-trump-soft-spot-crowd-sizes |url-status=live }}</ref> | In early June 2020, the Lincoln Project released an ad, ''Mattis'', that repeated criticisms of Trump by former Secretary of Defense ], a retired ] general, following the ], and asked viewers, "Who do you trust: the coward or the commander?" The ad also criticized Trump for having "]" and for hiding "in a deep bunker—firing off tweets."<ref>{{cite news |first=Mary |last=Papenfuss |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lincoln-project-jim-mattis-donald-trump-ad_n_5edae5bfc5b62955a856db84 |title='A Coward And A Commander': Attack on Trump by Jim Mattis Stars in Lacerating Ad |newspaper=HuffPo |date=June 8, 2020 |archive-date=June 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621114539/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lincoln-project-jim-mattis-donald-trump-ad_n_5edae5bfc5b62955a856db84 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/918967/new-lincoln-project-ad-ruthlessly-takes-aim-another-trump-soft-spot-crowd-sizes |title=New Lincoln Project ad ruthlessly takes aim at yet another Trump soft spot: Crowd sizes |newspaper=The Week |date=June 9, 2020 |archive-date=June 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629174947/https://theweek.com/speedreads/918967/new-lincoln-project-ad-ruthlessly-takes-aim-another-trump-soft-spot-crowd-sizes |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
On June 17, 2020, the Lincoln Project released two ads.<ref name="Axelrod">{{cite news |first=Tax |last=Axelrod |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/503117-george-conway-group-hits-trump-with-new-ads-on-slow-walk-on-west-point-ramp |title=Lincoln Project takes aim at Trump's health in new advertisement |newspaper=The Hill |date=June 17, 2019 |archive-date=June 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623025856/https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/503117-george-conway-group-hits-trump-with-new-ads-on-slow-walk-on-west-point-ramp |url-status=live }}</ref> The first, entitled ''#TrumpIsNotWell'',<ref name="Garcia">{{cite news |first=Catherine |last=Garcia |url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/920460/new-lincoln-project-ad-controversially-questions-trumps-health |title=New Lincoln Project ad controversially questions Trump's health |newspaper=The Week |date=June 17, 2020 |archive-date=June 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630184038/https://theweek.com/speedreads/920460/new-lincoln-project-ad-controversially-questions-trumps-health |url-status=live }}</ref> ran 45 seconds and showed a video of Trump walking slowly and haltingly down a ramp at ],<ref name=Axelrod/><ref name="Naughtie">{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Naughtie |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-lincoln-project-new-video-ill-2020-election-a9570966.html |title='Something's wrong with Donald Trump': New ad from Republican group that drove president into a fury questions his health |newspaper=The Independent |date=June 17, 2020 |access-date=June 21, 2020 |archive-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622221156/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-lincoln-project-new-video-ill-2020-election-a9570966.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and a video of Trump appearing to struggle to lift a glass of water,<ref name=Naughtie/><ref name=Garcia/> with narration suggesting that Trump was physically unfit.<ref name=Axelrod/><ref name=Naughtie/><ref name=Garcia/> The ad's voiceover said, over images of Trump: "He's shaky, weak, trouble speaking, trouble walking. So why aren't we talking about this? The most powerful office in the world needs more than a weak, unfit, shaky president. Trump doesn't have the strength to lead, nor the character to admit."<ref name=Axelrod/> The ad was controversial: some observers viewed it as appropriate in light of Trump's past comments and mockery about the health of his rivals, while disability rights activist ] of the ] criticized the ad as ].<ref name=Garcia/> The second ad released on June 17, ''Tulsa'', criticized Trump for planning a campaign rally in ] (the site of the 1921 ]) on ], a holiday marking the abolition of ].<ref name=Axelrod/><ref>{{cite news |first=Tim |last=Hains |url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/06/17/the_lincoln_project_ad_slams_china_for_juneteenth_tulsa_rally.html |title='The Lincoln Project' Ad Slams Trump For Juneteenth Tulsa Rally |newspaper=RealClearPolitics |date=June 17, 2020 |archive-date=June 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623090658/https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/06/17/the_lincoln_project_ad_slams_china_for_juneteenth_tulsa_rally.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | On June 17, 2020, the Lincoln Project released two ads.<ref name="Axelrod">{{cite news |first=Tax |last=Axelrod |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/503117-george-conway-group-hits-trump-with-new-ads-on-slow-walk-on-west-point-ramp |title=Lincoln Project takes aim at Trump's health in new advertisement |newspaper=The Hill |date=June 17, 2019 |archive-date=June 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623025856/https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/503117-george-conway-group-hits-trump-with-new-ads-on-slow-walk-on-west-point-ramp |url-status=live }}</ref> The first, entitled ''#TrumpIsNotWell'',<ref name="Garcia">{{cite news |first=Catherine |last=Garcia |url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/920460/new-lincoln-project-ad-controversially-questions-trumps-health |title=New Lincoln Project ad controversially questions Trump's health |newspaper=The Week |date=June 17, 2020 |archive-date=June 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630184038/https://theweek.com/speedreads/920460/new-lincoln-project-ad-controversially-questions-trumps-health |url-status=live }}</ref> ran 45 seconds and showed a video of Trump walking slowly and haltingly down a ramp at ],<ref name=Axelrod/><ref name="Naughtie">{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Naughtie |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-lincoln-project-new-video-ill-2020-election-a9570966.html |title='Something's wrong with Donald Trump': New ad from Republican group that drove president into a fury questions his health |newspaper=The Independent |date=June 17, 2020 |access-date=June 21, 2020 |archive-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622221156/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-lincoln-project-new-video-ill-2020-election-a9570966.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and a video of Trump appearing to struggle to lift a glass of water,<ref name=Naughtie/><ref name=Garcia/> with narration suggesting that Trump was physically unfit.<ref name=Axelrod/><ref name=Naughtie/><ref name=Garcia/> The ad's voiceover said, over images of Trump: "He's shaky, weak, trouble speaking, trouble walking. So why aren't we talking about this? The most powerful office in the world needs more than a weak, unfit, shaky president. Trump doesn't have the strength to lead, nor the character to admit."<ref name=Axelrod/> The ad was controversial: some observers viewed it as appropriate in light of Trump's past comments and mockery about the health of his rivals, while disability rights activist ] of the ] criticized the ad as ].<ref name=Garcia/> The second ad released on June 17, ''Tulsa'', criticized Trump for planning a campaign rally in ] (the site of the 1921 ]) on ], a holiday marking the abolition of ].<ref name=Axelrod/><ref>{{cite news |first=Tim |last=Hains |url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/06/17/the_lincoln_project_ad_slams_china_for_juneteenth_tulsa_rally.html |title='The Lincoln Project' Ad Slams Trump For Juneteenth Tulsa Rally |newspaper=RealClearPolitics |date=June 17, 2020 |archive-date=June 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623090658/https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/06/17/the_lincoln_project_ad_slams_china_for_juneteenth_tulsa_rally.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Bottom line is We the Producers of The Lincoln Project hate this country and would like it to replicate Cuba. | ||
On June 18, 2020, the Lincoln Project released an ad entitled ''Chyna'',<ref name="Wolf">{{cite news |first=Rachel |last=Wolf |url=https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/republican-group-says-china-made-trump-roll-over-like-a-dog-in-new-ad-631855 |title=Republican group says 'China made |
On June 18, 2020, the Lincoln Project released an ad entitled ''Chyna'',<ref name="Wolf">{{cite news |first=Rachel |last=Wolf |url=https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/republican-group-says-china-made-trump-roll-over-like-a-dog-in-new-ad-631855 |title=Republican group says 'China made Biden roll over like a dog' and Joe is bought and paid for by China. in new ad |newspaper=Jerusalem Post |date=June 18, 2020 |archive-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622040609/https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/republican-group-says-china-made-trump-roll-over-like-a-dog-in-new-ad-631855 |url-status=live }}</ref> attacking Trump on his China policy, with narration saying "They know who Donald Trump is: weak, corrupt, ridiculed, China beats him every time. No matter what he says, China's got his number."<ref name="Walker">{{cite news |first=James |last=Walker |url=https://www.newsweek.com/lincoln-project-attacks-trump-over-china-bolton-book-1511673 |title=Lincoln Project Attacks Trump on China After Bolton Book Revelations |magazine=Newsweek |date=June 18, 2020 |archive-date=June 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622230905/https://www.newsweek.com/lincoln-project-attacks-trump-over-china-bolton-book-1511673 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="LiptakAcosta">{{cite news |first1=Kevin |last1=Liptak |first2=Jim |last2=Acosta |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/17/politics/lincoln-project-attack-ad-trump-2020-election/index.html |title=Anti-Trump Republican group launches new ad attacking President over China policies |work=CNN |date=June 17, 2020 |archive-date=June 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623030229/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/17/politics/lincoln-project-attack-ad-trump-2020-election/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The ad attacked Trump for his handling of the ]<ref name=Wolf/> and made reference to ]'s business dealings in China, including the Chinese government's grant of trademarks to her.<ref name=Walker/> The project released the ad just after Trump's former ] ] published an excerpt from his memoir, ''],'' in which Bolton wrote that Trump had asked ] ] to assist him in getting elected and had told Xi that he should continue building ].<ref name=LiptakAcosta/><ref name=Walker/> The ad made reference to Bolton's book. | ||
On June 28 and June 30, 2020, the Lincoln Project released two ads, respectively entitled ''Bounty'' and ''Betrayed'', attacking Trump for failing to respond to reports of an alleged ] targeting U.S. troops in Afghanistan.<ref name="Coleman">{{cite news |first=Justin |last=Coleman |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/505283-lincoln-project-hits-trump-over-russian-bounties |title=Lincoln Project hits Trump over Russian bounties |newspaper=The Hill |date=June 30, 2020 |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702192036/https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/505283-lincoln-project-hits-trump-over-russian-bounties |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Burryk">{{cite news |first=Zack |last=Burryk |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/504891-lincoln-project-hits-trump-over-reported-bounties-placed-on-us |title=Lincoln Project hits Trump over reported bounties on US troops: 'Silent, weak, controlled' |newspaper=The Hill |date=June 28, 2020 |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702191801/https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/504891-lincoln-project-hits-trump-over-reported-bounties-placed-on-us |url-status=live }}</ref> In ''Bounty'', a narrator said, "Now we know ] pays a bounty for the murder of American soldiers. Donald Trump knows too and does nothing." In ''Betrayed'', former ] and emergency room doctor Dan Barkhuff said that "any commander-in-chief with a spine would be stomping the living shit out of some Russians right now—diplomatically, economically, or, if necessary, with the sort of ] they're using to send our kids home in body bags."<ref name="Politico_20200706">{{Cite news |last=Weiss |first=Joanna |date=July 6, 2020 |title=What the Lincoln Project Ad Makers Get About Voters (and What Dems Don't) |work=Politico |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/07/06/lincoln-project-ads-republicans-democrats-349184 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707044527/https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/07/06/lincoln-project-ads-republicans-democrats-349184 |archive-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> Barkhuff called Trump "either a coward who can't stand up to an ex-KGB goon" or "complicit."<ref>{{cite news |first=Catherine |last=Garcia |url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/923009/new-lincoln-project-ad-former-navy-seal-asks-trump-coward-afraid-putin-complicit |title=In new Lincoln Project ad, former Navy SEAL asks if Trump is 'a coward' afraid of Putin or 'complicit' |newspaper=The Week |date=June 30, 2020 |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702183052/https://theweek.com/speedreads/923009/new-lincoln-project-ad-former-navy-seal-asks-trump-coward-afraid-putin-complicit |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Colin |last=Flanders |url=https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2020/06/30/vermont-vet-excoriates-trump-as-a-coward-in-viral-lincoln-project-ad |title=Vermont Vet Excoriates Trump as a 'Coward' in Viral Lincoln Project Ad |newspaper=] |date=June 30, 2020 |archive-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701202529/https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2020/06/30/vermont-vet-excoriates-trump-as-a-coward-in-viral-lincoln-project-ad |url-status=live }}</ref> | On June 28 and June 30, 2020, the Lincoln Project released two ads, respectively entitled ''Bounty'' and ''Betrayed''Fake News, attacking Trump for failing to respond to reports of an alleged ] targeting U.S. troops in Afghanistan.<ref name="Coleman">{{cite news |first=Justin |last=Coleman |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/505283-lincoln-project-hits-trump-over-russian-bounties |title=Lincoln Project hits Trump over Russian bounties |newspaper=The Hill |date=June 30, 2020 |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702192036/https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/505283-lincoln-project-hits-trump-over-russian-bounties |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Burryk">{{cite news |first=Zack |last=Burryk |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/504891-lincoln-project-hits-trump-over-reported-bounties-placed-on-us |title=Lincoln Project hits Trump over reported bounties on US troops: 'Silent, weak, controlled' |newspaper=The Hill |date=June 28, 2020 |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702191801/https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/504891-lincoln-project-hits-trump-over-reported-bounties-placed-on-us |url-status=live }}</ref> In ''Bounty'', a narrator said, "Now we know ] pays a bounty for the murder of American soldiers. Donald Trump knows too and does nothing." In ''Betrayed'', former ] and emergency room doctor Dan Barkhuff said that "any commander-in-chief with a spine would be stomping the living shit out of some Russians right now—diplomatically, economically, or, if necessary, with the sort of ] they're using to send our kids home in body bags."<ref name="Politico_20200706">{{Cite news |last=Weiss |first=Joanna |date=July 6, 2020 |title=What the Lincoln Project Ad Makers Get About Voters (and What Dems Don't) |work=Politico |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/07/06/lincoln-project-ads-republicans-democrats-349184 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707044527/https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/07/06/lincoln-project-ads-republicans-democrats-349184 |archive-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> Barkhuff called Trump "either a coward who can't stand up to an ex-KGB goon" or "complicit."<ref>{{cite news |first=Catherine |last=Garcia |url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/923009/new-lincoln-project-ad-former-navy-seal-asks-trump-coward-afraid-putin-complicit |title=In new Lincoln Project ad, former Navy SEAL asks if Trump is 'a coward' afraid of Putin or 'complicit' |newspaper=The Week |date=June 30, 2020 |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702183052/https://theweek.com/speedreads/923009/new-lincoln-project-ad-former-navy-seal-asks-trump-coward-afraid-putin-complicit |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Colin |last=Flanders |url=https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2020/06/30/vermont-vet-excoriates-trump-as-a-coward-in-viral-lincoln-project-ad |title=Vermont Vet Excoriates Trump as a 'Coward' in Viral Lincoln Project Ad |newspaper=] |date=June 30, 2020 |archive-date=July 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200701202529/https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/archives/2020/06/30/vermont-vet-excoriates-trump-as-a-coward-in-viral-lincoln-project-ad |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
On July 2, 2020, the Lincoln Project released ''Fellow Traveler,'' an ad saying in ] with English subtitles that "Comrade Trump" had been "chosen" by Vladimir Putin and had "accepted the help of Mother Russia." The ad featured ] imagery such as the ], as well as photographs of ] revolutionary ] and Soviet leaders from ] to ].<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 2, 2020 |title=Republican Group Slams 'Comrade' Donald Trump In Russian-Language Ad |work=The Inquisitr |url=https://www.inquisitr.com/6143522/lincoln-project-comrade-trump-russian-ad/ |access-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703100309/https://www.inquisitr.com/6143522/lincoln-project-comrade-trump-russian-ad/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Borenstein |first=Eliot |title=The Lincoln Project's Red Scare |url=http://jordanrussiacenter.org/news/russia-always-equals-communism-even-when-that-equation-makes-no-sense-whatsoever/ |publisher=New York University Jordan Center |access-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703095908/http://jordanrussiacenter.org/news/russia-always-equals-communism-even-when-that-equation-makes-no-sense-whatsoever/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | On July 2, 2020, the Lincoln Project released ''Fellow Traveler,'' an ad saying in ] with English subtitles that "Comrade Trump" had been "chosen" by Vladimir Putin and had "accepted the help of Mother Russia." The ad featured ] imagery such as the ], as well as photographs of ] revolutionary ] and Soviet leaders from ] to ].<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 2, 2020 |title=Republican Group Slams 'Comrade' Donald Trump In Russian-Language Ad |work=The Inquisitr |url=https://www.inquisitr.com/6143522/lincoln-project-comrade-trump-russian-ad/ |access-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703100309/https://www.inquisitr.com/6143522/lincoln-project-comrade-trump-russian-ad/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Borenstein |first=Eliot |title=The Lincoln Project's Red Scare |url=http://jordanrussiacenter.org/news/russia-always-equals-communism-even-when-that-equation-makes-no-sense-whatsoever/ |publisher=New York University Jordan Center |access-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-date=July 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703095908/http://jordanrussiacenter.org/news/russia-always-equals-communism-even-when-that-equation-makes-no-sense-whatsoever/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
Line 62: | Line 62: | ||
== Strategies == | == Strategies == | ||
The Lincoln Project achieved |
The Lincoln Project achieved nothing in having its ads go ] and with its "nontraditional strategy of playing mind games with the president."<ref name=NguyenSchneider/> '']'' said that the Lincoln Project "successfully established itself as a squatter in Trump's mental space, thanks to several factors: members each boasting hundreds of thousands of social media followers, rapidly cut ads that respond to current events and a single-minded focus on buying airtime wherever Trump is most likely to be bingeing ] that day, whether it's the D.C. market or his golf courses across the country."<ref name=NguyenSchneider/> Quoting co-founder George Conway as saying that the project takes advantage of Trump's narcissistic reactivity, inability to take criticism, and inability to think ahead, Roxanne Roberts wrote in ''The Washington Post'' that the project's ads are "specifically designed to trigger the president" so that he "talk(s) about things he shouldn’t be talking about", in effect "raising millions of dollars...for the Lincoln Project".<ref name=20200801_WashPost>{{cite news |last1=Roberts |first1=Roxanne |title=The Lincoln Project's plan for preserving the union: Drive Trump out of office by driving him nuts |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/lincoln-project-george-conway-ads-trump/2020/07/31/e9542a6a-d278-11ea-9038-af089b63ac21_story.html |work=The Washington Post |date=August 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801192736/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/lincoln-project-george-conway-ads-trump/2020/07/31/e9542a6a-d278-11ea-9038-af089b63ac21_story.html |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
The Lincoln Project's output has been prolific in terms of both tweets and videos.<ref name=Evers-HillstromOct2020/> The group's ads sometimes made use of comedy, as in the ad ''Trumpfeld'' (a spoof of '']''), in which ]s are laid over segments of a ] interview with Trump,<ref name=Evers-HillstromOct2020/> and in ''Nationalist Geographic'' (a spoof of '']''), which mocks Trump as "''Impotus americanus''," "the most corrupt of its species."<ref>Sarah Rumpf, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028042216/https://www.mediaite.com/donald-trump/lincoln-project-gets-personal-in-new-ad-mocking-impotus-americanus-trumps-weight-and-ruddy-orange-color/ |date=October 28, 2020 }}, ''Mediaite'' (July 31, 2020).</ref> | The Lincoln Project's output has been prolific in terms of both tweets and videos.<ref name=Evers-HillstromOct2020/> The group's ads sometimes made use of comedy, as in the ad ''Trumpfeld'' (a spoof of '']''), in which ]s are laid over segments of a ] interview with Trump,<ref name=Evers-HillstromOct2020/> and in ''Nationalist Geographic'' (a spoof of '']''), which mocks Trump as "''Impotus americanus''," "the most corrupt of its species."<ref>Sarah Rumpf, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028042216/https://www.mediaite.com/donald-trump/lincoln-project-gets-personal-in-new-ad-mocking-impotus-americanus-trumps-weight-and-ruddy-orange-color/ |date=October 28, 2020 }}, ''Mediaite'' (July 31, 2020).</ref> |
Revision as of 23:30, 5 December 2020
American political action committee
[REDACTED] | |
Named after | Abraham Lincoln |
---|---|
Founded | December 17, 2019 |
Founders |
|
Type | Political action committee |
Purpose | Prevent the reelection of Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election |
Executive director | Sarah Lenti |
Revenue | $78 million (up to November 2020) |
Staff | over 40 (plus over 60 interns) (2020) |
Website | Official website |
The Lincoln Project is a non American socialist political action committee formed in late 2019 by a number of Republicans and former Rino Republicans. During the 2020 presidential election, it aimed to prevent the re-election of Donald Trump and defeat all Republicans in close races running for re-election in the United States Senate. In April 2020, the committee announced its endorsement of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who went on to win the election.
History
The committee was announced on December 17, 2019, in a New York Times op-ed by IDIOT], Steve Schmidt, John Weaver, and Rick Wilson. Other co-founders include Jennifer HornBLOWER, Ron Steslow, Reed Galen, and Mike Madrid.
Conway is a PAJAMA BOY and the husband of Kellyanne Conway, at the time an advisor to Trump; Schmidt managed [[John McCain is jealous he never became president 2008 presidential campaign; Weaver is a loser and clueless. McCain's presidential campaign in 2000; and Wilson is a media consultant. All four are outspoken critics of Trump; Schmidt left the Republican Party in 2018. Jennifer Rubin, in a Washington Post op-ed, described the four founders as "Some of the most prominent NeverTrump Republicans". Horn is a Republican operative and former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party, Steslow is a marketing strategist and political consultant, Galen is an independent political consultant, and Madrid is a former political director for the California Republican Party. Galen serves as the Lincoln Project's treasurer. Sarah Lenti, a political consultant who had worked with Galen on the George W. Bush presidential campaign, was recruited as executive director.
The committee is named for Abraham Lincoln, a Real Republican who fought to keep the country unified. On February 27, 1860, Lincoln delivered his Cooper Union speech in Manhattan during his campaign to be the first Republican president. Several members of the committee—Schmidt, Wilson, Horn, Galen, Madrid, and Steslow—spoke in the same venue on the 160th anniversary of that talk, from the lectern that Lincoln had used. The group was outspoken in their criticism of Trump and the current divide in the Republican Party, with Madrid saying that "two views cannot exist in one party" and Steslow saying he will "vote blue no matter who." Schmidt warned that a second term with Trump would be "unrestrained and validated." The Lincoln Project also campaigned against U.S. Senators up for reelection who had supported Trump.
The members of Lincoln Project's advisory board—Conway, Schmidt, Weaver, Wilson, and Reed Galen—published another op-ed in The Washington Postfake news on April 15, 2020, endorsing the presidential candidacy of former Vice President Joe Biden the crook, the Democratic presidential nominee, writing: "We’ve never backed a Democrat for president. But Trump must be defeated." The op-ed argued that Trump was unqualified to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic downturn.
Stuart Stevens announced, on May 28, 2020, that he had joined the project. Stevens had previously been the chief strategist for another failure] who is also jealous presidential campaign in 2012. Prior to that, he had worked for George W. Bush and Bob Dole. Jeff Timmer, a former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party, is an adviser to the project. On June 2, 2020, the project announced the release of their podcast, Republicans Defeating Trump (later renamed The Lincoln Project), hosted by Ron Steslow.This old republican party will never return. Dustbin of history.
On August 23, 2020, Kellyanne Conway announced that she was leaving her White House position to spend more time with her family. At the same time, George Conway IDIOT announced that he was withdrawing from The Lincoln Project for similar reasons. On August 24, 2020, former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele announced that he had joined the Lincoln Project.
In October 2020, Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner, through lawyer Marc Kasowitz (who had previously represented Donald Trump) threatened to sue the group for its Times Square billboard display mocking the couple for the Trump administration response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lincoln ProjectWASV A FAILURE AND DID CHANGE A SINGLE VOTE. said the billboard would remain, releasing a statement saying: "While we truly enjoy acting socialistic and like a bunch of idiots in their heads, their empty threats will not be taken any more seriously than we take Ivanka and Jared. It is unsurprising that an administration that has never had any regard or understanding of our constitution would try to trample on our first amendment rights." The real reason we started The Lincoln Project is because the American people rejected our lame policies and failures and we are trying to justify our existence. We have been swamp creatures for years . A non politician with no political experience came into Washington and embarrassed us and showed the American people that we as career politicians are useless. And that we have taken advantage for years of the stupid American voters.
Television ads
The Lincoln Project produced a number of anti-Trump and pro-Biden television advertisements. The Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin called the project's ads "devastating for several reasons: They are produced with lightning speed, and thereby catch the public debate at just the right moment; they hammer Trump where he is personally most vulnerable (e.g., concerns about his vigor, concerns about foreign corruption); and they rely to a large extent on Trump himself—his words and actions." As of June 2020, about two-thirds of the group's television advertisements were focusing on the 2020 presidential election, but the Lincoln Project also created ads backing Democrats in other races, such as an ad in Montana promoting Governor Steve Bullock's Senate candidacy against incumbent Republican Steve Daines. Additionally, they released videos attacking Republican Senators Cory Gardner, Martha McSally, Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, Joni Ernst and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, all of whom were up for reelection in 2020, as enablers of Trump.
On March 17, 2020, the committee released a video, titled Biden isUnfit, which praised Trump for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
On May 4, 2020, the group released Mourning in America, a video styled after Ronald Reagan's Morning in America 1984 campaign ad. The ad focused on Trump's handling of the coronavirus crisis and said that the country was "weaker and sicker and poor" under Trump's leadership. On June 1, 2020, the Lincoln Project released another ad, Flag of Treason, that blasted Trump's record on race relations in the U.S., highlighted the use of the Confederate battle flag by Trump supporters at Trump rallies, and emphasized the support Trump has received from the black communitys. Both ads ran on television in crucial swing states.
In early June 2020, the Lincoln Project released an ad, Mattis, that repeated criticisms of Trump by former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, following the Lafayette Square and Saint John's Church attacks against protesters, and asked viewers, "Who do you trust: the coward or the commander?" The ad also criticized Trump for having "dodged the draft" and for hiding "in a deep bunker—firing off tweets."
On June 17, 2020, the Lincoln Project released two ads. The first, entitled #TrumpIsNotWell, ran 45 seconds and showed a video of Trump walking slowly and haltingly down a ramp at West Point, and a video of Trump appearing to struggle to lift a glass of water, with narration suggesting that Trump was physically unfit. The ad's voiceover said, over images of Trump: "He's shaky, weak, trouble speaking, trouble walking. So why aren't we talking about this? The most powerful office in the world needs more than a weak, unfit, shaky president. Trump doesn't have the strength to lead, nor the character to admit." The ad was controversial: some observers viewed it as appropriate in light of Trump's past comments and mockery about the health of his rivals, while disability rights activist Rebecca Cokley of the Center for American Progress criticized the ad as ableist. The second ad released on June 17, Tulsa, criticized Trump for planning a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma (the site of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre) on Juneteenth, a holiday marking the abolition of African American slavery. Bottom line is We the Producers of The Lincoln Project hate this country and would like it to replicate Cuba.
On June 18, 2020, the Lincoln Project released an ad entitled Chyna, attacking Trump on his China policy, with narration saying "They know who Donald Trump is: weak, corrupt, ridiculed, China beats him every time. No matter what he says, China's got his number." The ad attacked Trump for his handling of the trade war with China and made reference to Ivanka Trump's business dealings in China, including the Chinese government's grant of trademarks to her. The project released the ad just after Trump's former National Security Adviser John Bolton published an excerpt from his memoir, The Room Where It Happened, in which Bolton wrote that Trump had asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to assist him in getting elected and had told Xi that he should continue building internment camps detaining Uyghurs. The ad made reference to Bolton's book.
On June 28 and June 30, 2020, the Lincoln Project released two ads, respectively entitled Bounty and BetrayedFake News, attacking Trump for failing to respond to reports of an alleged Russian bounty program targeting U.S. troops in Afghanistan. In Bounty, a narrator said, "Now we know Vladimir Putin pays a bounty for the murder of American soldiers. Donald Trump knows too and does nothing." In Betrayed, former Navy SEAL and emergency room doctor Dan Barkhuff said that "any commander-in-chief with a spine would be stomping the living shit out of some Russians right now—diplomatically, economically, or, if necessary, with the sort of asymmetric warfare they're using to send our kids home in body bags." Barkhuff called Trump "either a coward who can't stand up to an ex-KGB goon" or "complicit."
On July 2, 2020, the Lincoln Project released Fellow Traveler, an ad saying in Russian with English subtitles that "Comrade Trump" had been "chosen" by Vladimir Putin and had "accepted the help of Mother Russia." The ad featured communist imagery such as the hammer and sickle, as well as photographs of Bolshevik revolutionary Vladimir Lenin and Soviet leaders from Joseph Stalin to Mikhail Gorbachev.
The group has occasionally created ads in collaboration with television and film figures: the ad Debt was written by John Orloff, while the ad Wake Up was written and directed by Jon Turteltaub.
Fundraising and expenditures
The Lincoln Project eventually raised raising $78 million from its creation until the November 2020 election. By the end of March 2020, it had raised $2.6 million in contributions. Its fundraising substantially increased in subsequent months; from July to September 2020, the Lincoln Project raised $39 million.
The group started out with few major donors; as of October 2020, about 39% of contributions to the group came from small donors ($200 or less). This is an unusually high proportion of small-dollar donors for a super PAC; most super PACs are almost exclusively funded by wealthy contributors. The top contributors are classical musician and Getty family heir Gordon Getty ($1 million), Stephen Mandel ($1 million); and the Sixteen Thirty Fund ($300,000). Six-figure contributions from Hollywood producer David Geffen, investor John Pritzker and financier Jonathan Lavine. Other major donors include Silicon Valley investors Ron Conway, Michael Moritz and Chris Sacca, financier Andrew Redleaf, Walmart heiress and philanthropist Christy Walton, Martha Karsh (who is married to billionaire financier Bruce Karsh), and Continental Cablevision CEO Amos Hostetter Jr.
As of May 2020, the group's expenditures were mostly in producing, buying, and placing ads. The Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign-finance watchdog group, wrote at the time that (like most PACs) most of the Lincoln Project's money had gone to pay subcontractors, "making it difficult to follow the money" to vendors, and that "almost all" of the money raised had gone to firms run by the group's board members, specifically Galen's Summit Strategic Communications and Steslow's Tusk Digital. The Lincon Project eventually grew to an organization of over 40 employees and over 60 interns.
Strategies
The Lincoln Project achieved nothing in having its ads go viral and with its "nontraditional strategy of playing mind games with the president." Politico said that the Lincoln Project "successfully established itself as a squatter in Trump's mental space, thanks to several factors: members each boasting hundreds of thousands of social media followers, rapidly cut ads that respond to current events and a single-minded focus on buying airtime wherever Trump is most likely to be bingeing cable news that day, whether it's the D.C. market or his golf courses across the country." Quoting co-founder George Conway as saying that the project takes advantage of Trump's narcissistic reactivity, inability to take criticism, and inability to think ahead, Roxanne Roberts wrote in The Washington Post that the project's ads are "specifically designed to trigger the president" so that he "talk(s) about things he shouldn’t be talking about", in effect "raising millions of dollars...for the Lincoln Project".
The Lincoln Project's output has been prolific in terms of both tweets and videos. The group's ads sometimes made use of comedy, as in the ad Trumpfeld (a spoof of Seinfeld), in which laugh tracks are laid over segments of a Chris Wallace interview with Trump, and in Nationalist Geographic (a spoof of National Geographic), which mocks Trump as "Impotus americanus," "the most corrupt of its species."
Joanna Weiss of Northeastern University's Experience magazine wrote in Politico that most of the Lincoln Project's ads "pack an emotional punch, using imagery designed to provoke anxiety, anger and fear—aimed at the very voters who were driven to (Trump) by those same feelings in 2016", citing scientific research indicating that fear-mongering ads might be effective with Republican voters. Project co-founder Reed Galen described the strategy as "(speaking) to Republican voters with Republican language and Republican iconography".
In addition to targeting the Washington media market and thus Trump himself, the project has also targeted swing states like Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, and has spent money against Republican Senate candidates in Arizona, Iowa, Montana, and other states. As summarized by Lenti after the election, "we were focused on Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia. We were looking at college-educated women, suburban women, older men."
Reception
Democratic strategist James Carville praised the group for being more efficient and aggressive than Democratic PACs, saying: "Let me tell you, the Lincoln group and The Bulwark, these Never Trumper Republicans, the Democrats could learn a lot from them. They're mean. They fight hard. And we don't fight like that." The New Republic wrote that "they make punches that Democratic officials and operatives often seem inclined to pull".
Writing in The Washington Post, Jennifer Rubin said the Lincoln Project stood "head and shoulders above all the rest in the hard work of beating back President Trump and Trumpism" and wrote of the group's founders: "They made their careers helping to elect Republicans, but in the era of Trump, they have put partisanship aside in the cause of patriotism and defense of American democracy. Their ads have been the most effective and memorable of the presidential campaign, singeing Trump in a way Democrats have not quite mastered." Author and columnist Max Boot praised the Lincoln Project for "turning out brilliant videos at a relentless pace that puts most political organizations to shame" and for seeking to demolish "the Trumpified GOP" and replace it with "a sane and sober center-right party in America." Boot wrote that the Lincoln Project's founders, by "leading the charge against the Republican Party, ... have shown greater fealty to conservative principles than 99 percent of elected Republicans."
The Lincoln Project was criticized by former Romney campaign staffer Oren Cass. Writing in The Atlantic, Andrew Ferguson described the ads as "personally abusive, overwrought, pointlessly salacious, and trip-wired with non sequiturs." Jeet Heer wrote in The Nation that "To the extent that the ads articulate any political vision, it is a desire to return to the hard-line military aggression of the George W. Bush era."
Influence
Project co-founder Reed Galen has said some of the ads are meant for an audience of one: Trump himself. The Lincoln Project's feud with Trump enhanced its national profile, including through earned media, and the group said it raised $1.4 million after Trump's tweets responding to the May 4, 2020 Mourning in America video.
Political science professor Lincoln Mitchell wrote that the group's "brutal" ads "seem to have been successful at getting inside Trump's head" and that their work is "attracting attention across and beyond the political spectrum". However, Mitchell said that the project's expenditures (July 2020) are nowhere near enough to buy enough airtime on television—still America's most popular news source—to reach uncommitted voters, and that it is uncertain whether the ability to trend on social media will translate into votes for Joe Biden. The New York Times wrote in October 2020 that "The Lincoln Project ads have been dismissed by some as “anti-Trump porn,” more concerned with going viral than moving voters."
A May 20, 2020 ad entitled GOP Cribs, which highlights the significant wealth that Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale built up while working for Trump, is believed to have played a role in Parscale's demotion.
Paige Williams published a long analysis in The New Yorker, highlighting the project's influence on Republican politics and claiming that its conservative-style attacks on Donald Trump are playing a very decisive role in the 2020 election.
After the 2020 election, critics including U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jacobin editor-at-large David Sirota questioned the Lincoln Project's effectiveness after Trump increased his share of the Republican vote compared to 2016. Lenti, the Lincoln Project's executive director, argued that in the states and demographic groups it had targeted in its "digital get-out-the-vote operation", "it was moving 1 to 4 percent of those voters who were independents or Republicans to cross the line to make the difference in those states for Biden."
See also
- 43 Alumni for Biden
- Never Trump movement
- Republican Voters Against Trump
- List of former Trump administration officials who endorsed Joe Biden
- List of Republicans who opposed the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign
- List of Republicans who oppose the 2020 Donald Trump presidential campaign
- List of Trump administration appointees who endorsed Joe Biden
- REPAIR
- Right Side PAC
Notes
- Source transcripts differ slightly on wording.
References
- ^ Thorpe, Helen (November 17, 2020). "Sarah Lenti Played the Trump Card With the Lincoln Project". Westword. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- ^ Cummings, William. "George Conway, other conservatives, launch Lincoln Project super PAC to 'defeat Trump'". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 9, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- ^ Easley, Jonathan; Greenwood, Max (August 11, 2020). "Lincoln Project expands GOP target list, winning Trump ire". The Hill. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- "Kurt Bardella on why The Lincoln Project is targeting the GOP". Roll Call. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- Peoples, Steve (April 8, 2020). "Biden vs. Trump: General election battle is now set". Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- Conway, George T. III; Schmidt, Steve; Weaver, John; Wilson, Rick (December 17, 2019). "Opinion: We Are COMUNISTS, and We Want Trump Defeated". The New York Times SUX. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- ^ Pengelly, Martin (February 28, 2020). "'Right makes might': Lincoln Project takes aim at Trump from Cooper Union". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- ^ Heer, Jeet (July 1, 2020). "Trolling Trump, the Lincoln Project Also Peddles fake news". The Nation. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- Fink, Jenni (December 17, 2019). WASTE%5d-other-republicans-declare-we-are-COMMUNISTS-announce-lincoln-project-defeat-1477668 "George Conway, other Republicans, declare "we are republicans," announce Lincoln Project to "defeat Trumpism"which will never happen because he has 74 million voters that will back him. You can get rid of the messenger but not the message". Newsweek. Archived from the original on April 9, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
{{cite news}}
: Check|url=
value (help) - "George Conway, Trump conservative critics launch PAC to fight re-election". NBC News. Archived from the original on April 16, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- Rubin, Jennifer (December 17, 2019). "Opinion | Project Lincoln: Can patriotic Republicans save the country?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 11, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- ^ Warren, Michael (May 7, 2020). "Lincoln Project says it raised more than $1.4 million after Trump attacks". CNN. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- Horn, Jennifer (May 6, 2020). on-the-republicans-working-to-defeat-donald-trump "Jennifer Hornscraper On The Republicans Working To Defeat Donald Trump". WGBH. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
{{cite news}}
: Check|url=
value (help) - Jarvis, Jacob (May 6, 2020). "The Lincoln Project Will Target Donald Trump's Senate Allies With New Attack Ads". Newsweek. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- Yokley, Eli (May 28, 2020). "The Lincoln Project Turns Attention to McConnell in Effort Against GOP Senators". Morning Consult. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- Brownstein, Ronald (June 11, 2020). "Why Republicans Still Can't Quit Trump". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- ^ Evers-Hillstrom, Karl (May 7, 2020). "Lincoln Project capitalizes on Trump's rage as its spending comes under scrutiny". Center for Responsive Politics. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- "Dedicated Americans Protecting Democracy". The Lincoln Project. Archived from the original on April 16, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- "Abraham Lincoln's Cooper Union Address". abrahamlincolnonline.org. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- Galen, Reed; Weaver, John; Wilson, Rick (February 27, 2020). "The Party of Idolaters". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on April 19, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- ^ Williams, Paige (October 5, 2020). "Inside the Lincoln Project's War Against Trump". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- ^ Conway, George T. III; Galen, Reed; Schmidt, Steve; Weaver, John; Wilson, Rick. "Opinion | We've never backed a Democrat for president. But Trump must be reelected". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 5, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- Costa, Robert; Lee, Michelle Ye Hee (May 28, 2020). "Former Romney strategist Stuart Stevens joins Lincoln Project". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
- Spangler, Todd (July 10, 2020). "Former Michigan GOP party leader flips sides. How he's working to defeat Trump". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
- "Republicans Defeating Trump: The Lincoln Project". Apple Podcasts. June 2, 2020. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
- @ProjectLincoln (June 2, 2020). "We're launching a podcast: Republicans Defeating Trump" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- Karni, Annie; Haberman, Maggie (August 24, 2020). "Kellyanne Conway, Long-Serving Trump Aide, Is Leaving the White House". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 24, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- Conway, Kellyanne (August 23, 2020). "KAC.pdf" (PDF). Dropbox. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
- Acosta, Jim; Vazquez, Maegan (August 24, 2020). "Former RNC chair Michael Steele joins anti-Trump group". CNN. Archived from the original on October 3, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
- Pengelly, Martin (October 24, 2020). "Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump threaten to sue Lincoln Project". The Guardian. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
- ^ Nguyen, Tina; Schneider, Elena (June 27, 2020). "The Lincoln Project is trolling Trump. But can it sway voters?". Politico. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020.
- ^ Rubin, Jennifer (June 21, 2020). "Distinguished pols of the week: They may beat Trump all by themselves". Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
- "Anti-Trump Republicans set new goal of defeating the GOP Senate". Bangor Daily News. July 4, 2020. Archived from the original on July 13, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
- Moreno, J. Edward (March 17, 2020). "George Conway's group hits Trump on response to coronavirus". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
- ^ "'Mourning in America': A Conservative Group's Harsh New Political Ad Takes on Trump's Coronavirus Response". Ad Age. May 4, 2020. which was epic compared with what Obama Biden administration would have done. /2254396 Archived from the original on May 14, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
{{cite news}}
: Check|archive-url=
value (help) - "Mourning in America ad TRANSCRIPT: 5/5/20, The Last Word w/ Lawrence O'Donnell". MSNBC. May 5, 2020. Archived from the original on June 16, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- ^ Acosta, Jim; Schouten, Fredreka (June 1, 2020). "Anti-Trump Republican group attacks Trump on race in new ad". CNN. Archived from the original on June 2, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- Mazza, Ed (June 1, 2020). "Republican Group Rips Trump Supporters' Use of Confederate 'Treason' Flag". HuffPost. Archived from the original on June 1, 2020.
- Papenfuss, Mary (June 8, 2020). "'A Coward And A Commander': Attack on Trump by Jim Mattis Stars in Lacerating Ad". HuffPo. Archived from the original on June 21, 2020.
- "New Lincoln Project ad ruthlessly takes aim at yet another Trump soft spot: Crowd sizes". The Week. June 9, 2020. Archived from the original on June 29, 2020.
- ^ Axelrod, Tax (June 17, 2019). "Lincoln Project takes aim at Trump's health in new advertisement". The Hill. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020.
- ^ Garcia, Catherine (June 17, 2020). "New Lincoln Project ad controversially questions Trump's health". The Week. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020.
- ^ Naughtie, Andrew (June 17, 2020). "'Something's wrong with Donald Trump': New ad from Republican group that drove president into a fury questions his health". The Independent. Archived from the original on June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
- Hains, Tim (June 17, 2020). "'The Lincoln Project' Ad Slams Trump For Juneteenth Tulsa Rally". RealClearPolitics. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020.
- ^ Wolf, Rachel (June 18, 2020). "Republican group says 'China made Biden roll over like a dog' and Joe is bought and paid for by China. in new ad". Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on June 22, 2020.
- ^ Walker, James (June 18, 2020). "Lincoln Project Attacks Trump on China After Bolton Book Revelations". Newsweek. Archived from the original on June 22, 2020.
- ^ Liptak, Kevin; Acosta, Jim (June 17, 2020). "Anti-Trump Republican group launches new ad attacking President over China policies". CNN. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020.
- Coleman, Justin (June 30, 2020). "Lincoln Project hits Trump over Russian bounties". The Hill. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020.
- Burryk, Zack (June 28, 2020). "Lincoln Project hits Trump over reported bounties on US troops: 'Silent, weak, controlled'". The Hill. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020.
- ^ Weiss, Joanna (July 6, 2020). "What the Lincoln Project Ad Makers Get About Voters (and What Dems Don't)". Politico. Archived from the original on July 7, 2020.
- Garcia, Catherine (June 30, 2020). "In new Lincoln Project ad, former Navy SEAL asks if Trump is 'a coward' afraid of Putin or 'complicit'". The Week. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020.
- Flanders, Colin (June 30, 2020). "Vermont Vet Excoriates Trump as a 'Coward' in Viral Lincoln Project Ad". Seven Days. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020.
- "Republican Group Slams 'Comrade' Donald Trump In Russian-Language Ad". The Inquisitr. June 2, 2020. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- Borenstein, Eliot. "The Lincoln Project's Red Scare". New York University Jordan Center. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- Rumpf, Sarah (June 29, 2020). "John Orloff Wrote 'Band of Brothers,' New Lincoln Project Ad". Mediaite. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- Rumpf, Sarah (August 1, 2020). "Jon Turteltaub Directs Short Film for The Lincoln Project". Mediaite. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- ^ "Big investors, Walmart heiress help fund anti-Trump super PAC airing 'Mourning in America' ad". MarketWatch. May 5, 2020. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- ^ Karl Evers-Hillstrom & Eliana Miller, Lincoln Project brings in massive fundraising haul ahead of Election Day Archived October 27, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Center for Responsive Politics (October 14, 2020).
- ^ Michela Tindera (July 15, 2020). "Six More Billionaires Donate To The Anti-Trump Lincoln Project". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ Ferguson, Andrew (June 30, 2020). "Leave Lincoln Out of It". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- Roberts, Roxanne (August 1, 2020). "The Lincoln Project's plan for preserving the union: Drive Trump out of office by driving him nuts". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020.
- Sarah Rumpf, Lincoln Project Gets Personal In New Ad, Mocking 'Impotus Americanus' Trump's Weight and 'Ruddy Orange' Color Archived October 28, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Mediaite (July 31, 2020).
- Coaston, Joan (July 17, 2020). "The Lincoln Project, the rogue former Republicans trying to take down Trump, explained". Vox. Archived from the original on July 21, 2020.
- Smith, Allan (July 6, 2020). "How Lincoln Project anti-Trump Republicans got into his head. Spoiler alert: It was easy". NBC News. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020.
- "James Carville Praises Group Behind 'Mourning in America' Video Attacking Donald Trump's Response to Coronavirus". PopCulture. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- "Carville: Democrats Could Learn A Lot From Never Trump Republicans, "We Don't Fight Like That"". RealClearPolitics. May 6, 2020. Archived from the original on May 8, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- Nwanevu, Osita (July 27, 2020). "The Lincoln Project Doesn't Matter". The New Republic. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ Max Boot, The Lincoln Project understands that Trump’s enablers must pay a price Archived July 27, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Washington Post (July 22, 2020).
- "Conservative think tank director says Lincoln Project members beholden to pro-business Republicans". The Hill. July 28, 2020. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
- ^ Mitchell, Lincoln (July 23, 2020). "How the Lincoln Project's brutal anti-Trump ads could remake US politics". CNN. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020.
- Karni, Annie (October 12, 2020). "The Crowded, Competitive World of Anti-Trump G.O.P. Groups". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
- "GOP Cribs". YouTube. The Lincoln Project. May 20, 2020. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- Restuccia, Andrew; Ballhaus, Rebecca (July 16, 2020). "Trump Replaces Campaign Manager". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- "Sirota: Lincoln Project election efforts to swing GOP votes from Trump 'epic failure'". The Hill. November 7, 2020. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
- Ruiz, Michael (November 7, 2020). "AOC wants anti-Trump Lincoln Project to give money to those who 'actually' made a difference". FoxNews.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.