The Lincoln Project Explained

The Lincoln Project
Named After:Abraham Lincoln
Founded:December 17, 2019
Type:Political action committee
Purpose:The electoral defeat of Donald Trump and other Trumpist Republicans.[1]
Leader Title:Executive Director
Leader Name:Sarah Lenti
Revenue:$78 million
Revenue Year:up to November 2020
Staff:over 40 (plus over 60 interns)
Staff Year:2020

The Lincoln Project is an American political action committee (PAC) founded in December 2019 by moderate conservatives and former Republican Party members who oppose U.S. President Donald Trump and Trumpism. During the 2020 presidential election, it aimed to prevent the re-election of President Trump, and to defeat incumbent Republican candidates running for re-election who had been loyalists to Trump. In April 2020, the committee endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Since 2022, the committee has focused on preventing the re-election of Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

History

Before the 2020 election

The committee was announced on December 17, 2019, in a New York Times op-ed by George Conway, Steve Schmidt, John Weaver, and Rick Wilson.[2] Other co-founders include Jennifer Horn, Ron Steslow, Reed Galen, and Mike Madrid.[3] Conway is an attorney and the husband of Kellyanne Conway, at the time an advisor to Trump; Schmidt managed John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign; Weaver oversaw McCain's presidential campaign in 2000;[4] and Wilson is a media consultant.[5] All four are outspoken critics of Trump; Schmidt left the Republican Party in 2018.[6] Jennifer Rubin, in a Washington Post op-ed, described the four founders as "Some of the most prominent NeverTrump Republicans".[7] Horn is a Republican operative[8] and former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party,[9] Steslow is a marketing strategist and political consultant,[10] Galen is an independent political consultant,[11] and Madrid is a former political director for the California Republican Party.[12] Galen serves as the Lincoln Project's treasurer.[13] Sarah Lenti, a political consultant who had worked with Galen on the George W. Bush presidential campaign, was recruited as executive director.[14]

The committee is named for Abraham Lincoln, a Republican who fought to keep the country unified.[15] On February 27, 1860, Lincoln delivered his Cooper Union speech in Manhattan during his campaign to be the first Republican president.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18] [19] [20]

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 Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, writing: "We've never backed a Democrat for president. But Trump must be defeated."[21] The op-ed argued that Trump was unqualified to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic downturn.[22]

Stuart Stevens announced, on May 28, 2020, that he had joined the project. Stevens had previously been the chief strategist for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign in 2012. Prior to that, he had worked for George W. Bush and Bob Dole.[23] Jeff Timmer, a former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party, is an adviser to the project.[24] On June 2, 2020, the project announced the release of their podcast, Republicans Defeating Trump (later renamed The Lincoln Project), hosted by Ron Steslow.[25] [26]

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.[27] [28] On August 24, 2020, former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele announced that he had joined the Lincoln Project.[29] Weaver suffered a heart attack in mid-2020 and withdrew from the project for health reasons.

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's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lincoln Project said the billboard would remain, releasing a statement saying: "While we truly enjoy living rent-free 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."[30]

Post-election

In January 2021, responding to a magazine article accusing him of sexual misconduct spanning a period of years, co-founder John Weaver acknowledged having sent inappropriate sexual messages to multiple men, for which he apologized.[31] According to The New York Times, Weaver offered young men professional support in exchange for sex; that report also accused him of cultivating a non-sexual online relationship with a fourteen-year-old boy and then engaging in "sexual banter" with him after his eighteenth birthday.[32] Following the revelations, the Lincoln Project said "John's statement speaks for itself".[33] It later issued a follow-up statement describing him as "a predator, a liar, and an abuser" and denouncing his "deplorable and predatory behavior". They denied having any knowledge of the allegations against Weaver until learning of it after it was revealed by The New York Times and other media, a claim vociferously denied by numerous members of the Project, who insisted that they had raised the issue with leadership many months earlier.[34] [35] [36]

On February 5, 2021, Jennifer Horn, a founder, resigned from the organization, citing Weaver's misconduct.[37] In addition, Ron Steslow, Mike Madrid, and George Conway, all founders and board members, had also left the organization by February 2021, the first two after disputes within the organization over power and money.[35] [38] [39] On February 11, the Lincoln Project announced plans for an external investigation to review Weaver's conduct during his tenure with the group.[40] On February 12, several other advisors also resigned.[41] Steve Schmidt, a founder, also resigned from the board due to his involvement in leaking Horn's private direct messages;[42] however, he remained with the Lincoln Project until November 2021.

The Lincoln Project prepared to sue Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani for defamation after he claimed in a broadcast interview with Steve Bannon that the organization had planned the January 6 storming of the Capitol. Giuliani said he relied on an anonymous source and offered no evidence for his allegations. The Lincoln Project sent him a three-page letter on January 29, 2021, that read in part "You committed a textbook act of defamation. You publicly accused The Lincoln Project of an infamous and criminal act that it had nothing to do with, as you very well know." They demanded an apology by February 3.[43]

In October 2021, a group of five people organized by the Lincoln Project, carrying tiki-torches and dressed like the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, appeared in front of the campaign bus of Glenn Youngkin, the Republican nominee for governor of Virginia in the 2021 election.[44] [45] [46] They called the stunt "a demonstration" designed to highlight "Youngkin's continued failure to denounce Donald Trump's 'very fine people on both sides'" comment.[47] The stunt was criticized by Youngkin's campaign, as well as by the campaign of his rival Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe and others.

Television ads

The Lincoln Project produced a number of anti-Trump and pro-Biden television advertisements.[48] 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."[49]

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.[50]

On March 17, 2020, the committee released a video, titled Unfit, which criticized Trump for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[51]

On May 4, 2020, the group released Mourning in America, a video styled after Ronald Reagan's Morning in America 1984 campaign ad.[52] The ad focused on Trump's handling of the coronavirus crisis and said that the country was "weaker and sicker and poor[er]" under Trump's leadership.[53] [54] 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 white nationalists.[55] [56] 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."[57] [58]

On June 17, 2020, the Lincoln Project released two ads.[59] The first, entitled #TrumpIsNotWell,[60] ran 45 seconds and showed a video of Trump walking slowly and haltingly down a ramp at West Point,[61] 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.

On June 18, 2020, the Lincoln Project released an ad entitled Chyna,[62] 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."[63] [64] 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 30, 2020, the Lincoln Project released two ads, respectively entitled Bounty and Betrayed, attacking Trump for failing to respond to reports of an alleged Russian bounty program targeting U.S. troops in Afghanistan.[65] [66] 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."[67] Barkhuff called Trump "either a coward who can't stand up to an ex-KGB goon" or "complicit."[68] [69]

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[70] [71] and referenced the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.

The group has occasionally created ads in collaboration with television and film figures: the ad Debt was written by John Orloff,[72] while the ad Wake Up was written and directed by Jon Turteltaub.[73] Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill narrated the ads Fauci and Absentee respectively.[74]

Fundraising and expenditures

OpenSecrets, which tracks money spent on politics, reported that the Lincoln Project raised $87,404,908 and spent $81,956,298 during the 2019-2020 election cycle. $51,406,346 came from individuals who had donated $200 or more.[75] (An earlier estimate was $78 million (~$ in) from its creation until the November 2020 election.) By the end of March 2020, it had raised $2.6 million (~$ in) in contributions.[76] Its fundraising substantially increased in subsequent months; from July to September 2020, the Lincoln Project raised $39 million (~$ in).[77]

As of May 2020, the group's expenditures were mostly in producing, buying, and placing ads. OpenSecrets, a campaign-finance watchdog group, wrote at the time that (like most PACs)[79] 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. $50 million of the $90 million raised went to firms controlled by the group's leaders, according to a February 2021 AP News report.[80] The Lincoln Project eventually grew to an organization of over 40 employees and over 60 interns.

Strategies

The Lincoln Project achieved success 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".[81]

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."[82]

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".[83]

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.[84] 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."

The project has labeled a faction within the Republican Party which they claim disenfranchises African American voters as the Jim Crow caucus.[85]

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."[86] The New Republic wrote that "they make punches that Democratic officials and operatives often seem inclined to pull".[87]

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."[88] 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, who described it as "a group of political operatives who are not conservatives."[89]

Writing in The Atlantic, Andrew Ferguson described the ads as "personally abusive, overwrought, pointlessly salacious, and trip-wired with non sequiturs." Rich Lowry, writing for the conservative publication National Review, described the Lincoln Project's stated goals as "self-serving tripe, as a glance at the insult-filled Twitter feeds, op-eds, and cable appearances of the principals instantly demonstrates", and described the group's advertisements as being "clearly meant to garner retweets rather than to speak to on-the-fence voters."[90]

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." Heer also wrote in March 2021: "The ineffectiveness of the ads should be no surprise. Twenty twenty was a polarizing election... In that environment, the Lincoln Project made the wrong arguments to the wrong voters" and described the group as a "successful scam".[91]

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 $1.4 million (~$ in) 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 $1.4 million (~$ in) (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.[92] 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."[93]

A May 20, 2020, ad entitled GOP Cribs,[94] 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 removal from that position.[95]

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 were playing a very decisive role in the 2020 election.[96]

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.[97] [98] 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."

Members

Founders

Advisors

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Lincoln Project: Home . The Lincoln Project . April 28, 2023 . Our Mission [...] The Lincoln Project launched with two stated objectives. The first was to defeat Donald Trump at the ballot box. The second was to ensure Trumpism failed alongside him. [...].
  2. News: Conway . George T. III . Schmidt . Steve . Weaver . John . Wilson . Rick . December 17, 2019 . Opinion: We Are Republicans, and We Want Trump Defeated . en-US . The New York Times . live . April 16, 2020 . 0362-4331 . April 18, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200418192125/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/opinion/lincoln-project.html.
  3. News: Pengelly . Martin . February 28, 2020 . 'Right makes might': Lincoln Project takes aim at Trump from Cooper Union . en-GB . The Guardian . April 16, 2020 . 0261-3077 . April 17, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200417190425/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/28/lincoln-project-donald-trump-cooper-union-rick-wilson . live.
  4. News: Heer . Jeet . July 1, 2020 . Trolling Trump, the Lincoln Project Also Peddles Militarism . The Nation . July 2, 2020 . July 2, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200702055558/https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/lincoln-project-trump-militarism/ . live.
  5. News: Jenni . Fink . December 17, 2019 . George Conway, other Republicans, declare 'we are republicans,' announce Lincoln Project to 'defeat Trumpism' . April 16, 2020 . Newsweek . en . April 9, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200409134414/https://www.newsweek.com/george-conway-other-republicans-declare-we-are-republicans-announce-lincoln-project-defeat-1477668 . live.
  6. News: December 17, 2019 . George Conway, Trump conservative critics launch PAC to fight re-election . en . . Associated Press . live . February 1, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200416025600/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/trump-s-conservative-critics-launch-pac-fight-re-election-n1103086 . April 16, 2020.
  7. News: Rubin . Jennifer . December 17, 2019 . Opinion Project Lincoln: Can patriotic Republicans save the country? . The Washington Post . April 16, 2020 . May 11, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200511023021/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/12/17/project-lincoln-can-patriotic-republicans-save-country/ . live.
  8. News: Michael . Warren . Lincoln Project says it raised more than $1.4 million after Trump attacks . CNN . May 7, 2020 . June 2, 2020 . May 31, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200531013739/https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/07/politics/lincoln-project-trump-ad/index.html . live.
  9. News: Jennifer Horn On The Republicans Working To Defeat Donald Trump . Jennifer . Horn . WGBH . May 6, 2020 . June 2, 2020 . May 29, 2020 . 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 . live.
  10. News: Jarvis . Jacob . May 6, 2020 . The Lincoln Project Will Target Donald Trump's Senate Allies With New Attack Ads . June 11, 2020 . Newsweek . en . May 28, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200528075143/https://www.newsweek.com/lincoln-project-donald-trump-senate-allies-new-attack-ads-1502261 . live.
  11. Web site: Yokley . Eli . May 28, 2020 . The Lincoln Project Turns Attention to McConnell in Effort Against GOP Senators . June 11, 2020 . Morning Consult . en . June 7, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200607124347/http://morningconsult.com/2020/05/28/lincoln-project-trump-mcconnell-ad/ . live.
  12. Web site: Brownstein. Ronald. June 11, 2020. Why Republicans Still Can't Quit Trump. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20210201092848/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/06/republicans-2024-nominee-will-be-trump-acolyte/612925/. February 1, 2021. February 1, 2021. The Atlantic. en.
  13. News: Evers-Hillstrom. Karl. May 7, 2020. Lincoln Project capitalizes on Trump's rage as its spending comes under scrutiny . . . live. July 2, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200821135911/https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/05/lincoln-project-capitalizes-on-trump-rage/. August 21, 2020.
  14. Web site: Thorpe. Helen. November 17, 2020. Sarah Lenti Played the Trump Card With the Lincoln Project. November 18, 2020. Westword.
  15. Web site: Dedicated Americans Protecting Democracy . April 16, 2020 . The Lincoln Project . April 16, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200416013902/https://lincolnproject.us/ . live.
  16. Web site: Abraham Lincoln's Cooper Union Address . April 16, 2020 . abrahamlincolnonline.org . April 8, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200408084432/http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/cooper.htm . live.
  17. Reed . Galen . John . Weaver . Rick . Wilson . February 27, 2020 . The Party of Idolaters . April 16, 2020 . . en-US . April 19, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200419082911/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/right-still-makes-might/607132/ . live.
  18. News: Cummings . William . George Conway, other conservatives, launch Lincoln Project super PAC to 'defeat Trump' . December 17, 2019 . April 16, 2020 . USA Today . en-US . May 9, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200509114415/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/12/17/anti-trump-lincoln-project-super-pac/2672990001/ . live.
  19. Web site: Easley. Jonathan. Greenwood. Max. August 11, 2020. Lincoln Project expands GOP target list, winning Trump ire. November 7, 2020. The Hill. en. November 8, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201108015745/https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/511401-lincoln-project-expands-gop-target-list-winning-trump-ire. live.
  20. News: Jason . Dick . Kurt Bardella on why The Lincoln Project is targeting the GOP . October 19, 2020 . September 30, 2020 . . en . October 21, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201021130638/https://www.rollcall.com/2020/09/30/kurt-bardella-on-why-the-lincoln-project-is-targeting-the-gop/ . live.
  21. News: 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 defeated. . live . April 16, 2020 . April 15, 2020 . The Washington Post . en . October 5, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201005180400/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/15/weve-never-backed-democrat-president-trump-must-be-defeated/.
  22. News: Peoples . Steve . April 8, 2020 . Biden vs. Trump: General election battle is now set . live . May 13, 2020 . Associated Press . July 2, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200702234833/https://apnews.com/ff4d5bcb568f02e76af1a8945167c8b5.
  23. News: Costa . Robert . Lee . Michelle Ye Hee . May 28, 2020 . Former Romney strategist Stuart Stevens joins Lincoln Project . The Washington Post . live . May 28, 2020 . May 29, 2020 . 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.
  24. News: Todd . Spangler . Former Michigan GOP party leader flips sides. How he's working to defeat Trump . Detroit Free Press . July 10, 2020 . July 10, 2020 . July 10, 2020 . 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/ . live.
  25. Web site: Republicans Defeating Trump: The Lincoln Project . Apple Podcasts . June 2, 2020 . June 11, 2020 . June 10, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200610074308/https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/republicans-defeating-trump/id1514968525 . live.
  26. 1267802541808640001 . ProjectLincoln . We're launching a podcast: Republicans Defeating Trump . June 2, 2020.
  27. News: Karni. Annie. Haberman. Maggie. Maggie Haberman. August 24, 2020. Kellyanne Conway, Long-Serving Trump Aide, Is Leaving the White House. en-US. The New York Times. live. August 24, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200824141919/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/us/politics/kellyanne-conway-leaving-white-house.html. August 24, 2020. 0362-4331.
  28. Web site: Conway . Kellyanne . August 23, 2020 . KAC.pdf . August 24, 2020 . Dropbox . en . dead . https://archive.today/20200824025642/https://www.dropbox.com/s/idvi2pijsbv1ku5/KAC.pdf?dl=0 . August 24, 2020 .
  29. News: Acosta. Jim. Jim Acosta. Vazquez. Maegan. August 24, 2020. Former RNC chair Michael Steele joins anti-Trump group. CNN. live. February 1, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20201003032245/https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/24/politics/michael-steele-lincoln-project/index.html. October 3, 2020.
  30. Web site: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump threaten to sue Lincoln Project. Martin. Pengelly. October 24, 2020. The Guardian. October 25, 2020. October 24, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201024235255/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/24/jared-kushner-ivanka-trump-lincoln-project. live.
  31. News: Ziegler. Megan. January 31, 2021. 'Predator, liar and abuser': The Lincoln Project responds to allegations against co-founder John Weaver. WTTG-TV. January 31, 2021.
  32. News: Astor. Maggie. Hakim. Danny. January 31, 2021. 21 Men Accuse Lincoln Project Co-Founder of Online Harassment. The New York Times. January 31, 2021.
  33. News: Muhr. Rhuardih. January 18, 2021. Lincoln Project Co-Founder Comes Out. Metro Weekly. January 31, 2021.
  34. https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/video/GYQbfcn_1zGNzSkPs7kHWUWsQqCXrwlp/ around 12:48 it shows the email from and interview with Conor Rogers, with other moments as well
  35. Web site: Inside the Lincoln Project’s Secrets, Side Deals and Scandals. Danny. Hakim. Maggie. Astor. Jo. Becker. March 8, 2021. The New York Times.
  36. Web site: Lincoln Project Co-Founder Resigns From Board Amid a Deepening Crisis. Danny. Hakim. Maggie. Astor. February 13, 2021. The New York Times.
  37. News: Haberman . Maggie . February 5, 2021 . A Lincoln Project co-founder resigns after allegations that a former colleague sent unsolicited, lurid messages to young men. . https://web.archive.org/web/20210205235942/https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/02/05/us/joe-biden-trump-impeachment/jennifer-horn-lincoln-project#jennifer-horn-lincoln-project. February 5, 2021 . The New York Times.
  38. Web site: Watch The Lincoln Project Season 1 Episode 5: Lincoln Project, The - Icarus – Full show on Paramount Plus. October 7, 2022. Paramount Plus.
  39. Shephard . Alex . The Spectacular Fall of the Lincoln Project . October 30, 2021 . . February 12, 2021.
  40. Web site: Lincoln Project to launch outside probe amid new revelations . Associated Press . February 12, 2021 . February 12, 2021 . Peoples . Steve.
  41. Web site: Scoop: Lincoln Project co-founder resigns. Axios. February 12, 2021 . February 12, 2021 . Markay . Lachlan.
  42. Web site: Schwartz . Brian . February 12, 2021 . Lincoln Project backers consider cutting off donations after misconduct allegations as co-founder Steve Schmidt quits board . June 19, 2023 . CNBC.
  43. Web site: Keller. Aaron. January 30, 2021. Lincoln Project Pens Scathing Threat to Sue Rudy Giuliani: 'You Were Once a Respected and Respectable Figure'. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210201012633/https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/lincoln-project-pens-scathing-threat-to-sue-rudy-giuliani-you-were-once-a-respected-and-respectable-figure/. February 1, 2021. February 1, 2021. Law & Crime.
  44. News: Joseph . Cameron . Lincoln Project Posed as Charlottesville White Supremacists at GOP Event . October 29, 2021 . VICE . en.
  45. News: Anti-Trump group takes credit for Virginia tiki torch stunt . October 29, 2021 . AP NEWS . October 29, 2021 . en.
  46. Web site: Helmore . Edward . October 30, 2021 . Lincoln Project members pose as white supremacists at Virginia GOP event . April 2, 2022 . The Guardian . en.
  47. Web site: The Lincoln Project: Statement from the Lincoln Project . The Lincoln Project . October 29, 2021 . October 29, 2021.
  48. News: Tina . Nguyen . Elena . Schneider . The Lincoln Project is trolling Trump. But can it sway voters? . Politico . June 27, 2020 . June 28, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200628214400/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/27/lincoln-project-trolling-trump-sway-voters-341928 . live.
  49. News: Jennifer . Rubin . Distinguished pols of the week: They may beat Trump all by themselves . Washington Post . June 21, 2020 . June 21, 2020 . June 21, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200621201818/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/21/distinguished-pols-week-they-may-beat-trump-all-by-themselves/ . live.
  50. News: Anti-Trump Republicans set new goal of defeating the GOP Senate . Bangor Daily News . July 4, 2020 . July 19, 2020 . July 13, 2020 . 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/ . live.
  51. News: Moreno . J. Edward . March 17, 2020 . George Conway's group hits Trump on response to coronavirus . April 16, 2020 . The Hill . en . April 14, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200414120056/https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/487998-george-conways-group-hits-trump-on-response-to-coronavirus . live.
  52. News: Simon . Dumenco . May 4, 2020 . 'Mourning in America': A Conservative Group's Harsh New Political Ad Takes on Trump's Coronavirus Response . . May 13, 2020 . May 14, 2020 . 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 . live.
  53. News: May 5, 2020 . Mourning in America ad: 5/5/20, The Last Word w/ Lawrence O'Donnell . May 13, 2020 . MSNBC . June 16, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200616222628/http://www.msnbc.com/transcripts/the-last-word/2020-05-05 . live.
  54. Source transcripts differ slightly on wording.
  55. News: Jim . Acosta . Fredreka . Schouten . Anti-Trump Republican group attacks Trump on race in new ad . CNN . June 1, 2020 . June 2, 2020 . June 2, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200602042845/https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/31/politics/lincoln-project-new-ad-trump-race/index.html . live.
  56. News: Ed . Mazza . Republican Group Rips Trump Supporters' Use of Confederate 'Treason' Flag . HuffPost . June 1, 2020 . June 1, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200601234816/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lincoln-project-confederate-flag_n_5ed49561c5b69cedf90e41bd . live.
  57. News: Mary . Papenfuss . 'A Coward And A Commander': Attack on Trump by Jim Mattis Stars in Lacerating Ad . HuffPo . June 8, 2020 . June 21, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200621114539/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lincoln-project-jim-mattis-donald-trump-ad_n_5edae5bfc5b62955a856db84 . live.
  58. News: New Lincoln Project ad ruthlessly takes aim at yet another Trump soft spot: Crowd sizes . The Week . June 9, 2020 . June 29, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200629174947/https://theweek.com/speedreads/918967/new-lincoln-project-ad-ruthlessly-takes-aim-another-trump-soft-spot-crowd-sizes . live.
  59. News: Tax . Axelrod . Lincoln Project takes aim at Trump's health in new advertisement . The Hill . June 17, 2019 . June 23, 2020 . 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 . live.
  60. News: Catherine . Garcia . New Lincoln Project ad controversially questions Trump's health . The Week . June 17, 2020 . June 30, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200630184038/https://theweek.com/speedreads/920460/new-lincoln-project-ad-controversially-questions-trumps-health . live.
  61. News: Andrew . Naughtie . 'Something's wrong with Donald Trump': New ad from Republican group that drove president into a fury questions his health . The Independent . June 17, 2020 . June 21, 2020 . June 22, 2020 . 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 . live.
  62. News: Rachel . Wolf . Republican group says 'China made Trump roll over like a dog' in new ad . Jerusalem Post . June 18, 2020 . June 22, 2020 . 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 . live.
  63. News: James . Walker . Lincoln Project Attacks Trump on China After Bolton Book Revelations . Newsweek . June 18, 2020 . June 22, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200622230905/https://www.newsweek.com/lincoln-project-attacks-trump-over-china-bolton-book-1511673 . live.
  64. News: Kevin . Liptak . Jim . Acosta . Anti-Trump Republican group launches new ad attacking President over China policies . CNN . June 17, 2020 . June 23, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200623030229/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/17/politics/lincoln-project-attack-ad-trump-2020-election/index.html . live.
  65. News: Justin . Coleman . Lincoln Project hits Trump over Russian bounties . The Hill . June 30, 2020 . July 2, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200702192036/https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/505283-lincoln-project-hits-trump-over-russian-bounties . live.
  66. News: Zack . Burryk . Lincoln Project hits Trump over reported bounties on US troops: 'Silent, weak, controlled' . The Hill . June 28, 2020 . July 2, 2020 . 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 . live.
  67. News: Weiss . Joanna . July 6, 2020 . What the Lincoln Project Ad Makers Get About Voters (and What Dems Don't) . Politico . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200707044527/https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/07/06/lincoln-project-ads-republicans-democrats-349184 . July 7, 2020.
  68. News: Catherine . Garcia . In new Lincoln Project ad, former Navy SEAL asks if Trump is 'a coward' afraid of Putin or 'complicit' . The Week . June 30, 2020 . July 2, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200702183052/https://theweek.com/speedreads/923009/new-lincoln-project-ad-former-navy-seal-asks-trump-coward-afraid-putin-complicit . live.
  69. News: Colin . Flanders . Vermont Vet Excoriates Trump as a 'Coward' in Viral Lincoln Project Ad . . June 30, 2020 . July 1, 2020 . 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 . live.
  70. News: Damir . Mujezinovic . June 2, 2020 . Republican Group Slams 'Comrade' Donald Trump In Russian-Language Ad . The Inquisitr . July 3, 2020 . July 3, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200703100309/https://www.inquisitr.com/6143522/lincoln-project-comrade-trump-russian-ad/ . live.
  71. Web site: Borenstein . Eliot . The Lincoln Project's Red Scare . New York University Jordan Center . July 2, 2020 . July 3, 2020 . July 3, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200703095908/http://jordanrussiacenter.org/news/russia-always-equals-communism-even-when-that-equation-makes-no-sense-whatsoever/ . live.
  72. News: Sarah . Rumpf . John Orloff Wrote 'Band of Brothers,' New Lincoln Project Ad . . June 29, 2020 . August 2, 2020 . July 24, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200724081846/https://www.mediaite.com/online/exclusive-band-of-brothers-writer-makes-anti-trump-ad-as-tribute-to-greatest-generations-sacrifices/ . live.
  73. News: Sarah . Rumpf . Jon Turteltaub Directs Short Film for The Lincoln Project . Mediaite . August 1, 2020 . August 2, 2020 . August 1, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200801162950/https://www.mediaite.com/entertainment/this-directors-films-showed-nicolas-cage-stealing-the-declaration-of-independence-his-latest-aims-to-stop-trump-from-stealing-the-constitution/ . live.
  74. Web site: Shafer. Ellise. November 3, 2020. Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill Team With the Lincoln Project for Anti-Trump Videos. April 22, 2021. Variety. en-US.
  75. Web site: The Lincoln Project PAC Profile. January 30, 2021. .
  76. News: Victor . Reklaitis . May 5, 2020 . Big investors, Walmart heiress help fund anti-Trump super PAC airing 'Mourning in America' ad . MarketWatch . July 2, 2020 . July 2, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200702105921/https://www.marketwatch.com/story/big-investors-walmart-heiress-help-fund-anti-trump-super-pac-airing-mourning-in-america-ad-2020-05-05 . live.
  77. Web site: Karl . Evers-Hillstrom . Eliana . Miller . Lincoln Project brings in massive fundraising haul ahead of Election Day . https://web.archive.org/web/20201027204417/https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/10/lincoln-project-1020-funds/ . October 27, 2020 . OpenSecrets.org . . October 14, 2020.
  78. News: Michela . Tindera . Six More Billionaires Donate To The Anti-Trump Lincoln Project . Forbes . July 15, 2020 . July 27, 2020 . July 27, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200727015609/https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2020/07/15/six-billionaires-join-christy-walton-to-support-anti-trump-republican-group-that-sparked-trump-twitter-tirades/ . live.
  79. News: Ferguson . Andrew . June 30, 2020 . Leave Lincoln Out of It . The Atlantic . July 2, 2020 . July 2, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200702064956/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/tactics-lincoln-project/613636/ . live.
  80. Web site: Peoples. Steve. Slodysko. Brian. February 11, 2021. How Leading Anti-Trump Group The Lincoln Project Ignored A Crisis In Its Ranks. February 12, 2021. HuffPost. en.
  81. News: Roberts . Roxanne . The Lincoln Project's plan for preserving the union: Drive Trump out of office by driving him nuts . The Washington Post . August 1, 2020 . 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 . August 1, 2020 . live.
  82. Web site: Sarah . Rumpf . Lincoln Project Gets Personal In New Ad, Mocking 'Impotus Americanus' Trump's Weight and 'Ruddy Orange' Color . 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/ . October 28, 2020 . Mediaite . July 31, 2020.
  83. News: Coaston . Joan . The Lincoln Project, the rogue former Republicans trying to take down Trump, explained . Vox . July 17, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200721225855/https://www.vox.com/2020/7/17/21316641/trump-lincoln-project-gop-2020 . July 21, 2020 . live.
  84. News: Smith . Allan . How Lincoln Project anti-Trump Republicans got into his head. Spoiler alert: It was easy. . NBC News . July 6, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200720101727/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/how-lincoln-project-anti-trump-republicans-got-his-head-spoiler-n1232669 . July 20, 2020 . live.
  85. News: Jenni . Fink . January 2, 2021 . New Lincoln Project Ad Calls Ted Cruz, Others the 'Jim Crow Caucus' Amid Election Challenges . February 5, 2021 . Newsweek.
  86. Web site: Allison . Schonter . May 7, 2020 . James Carville Praises Group Behind 'Mourning in America' Video Attacking Donald Trump's Response to Coronavirus . PopCulture . May 13, 2020 . July 1, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200701101727/https://popculture.com/trending/news/james-carville-praises-group-behind-mourning-in-america-video-donald-trump-response-coronavirus/ . live.
  87. Osita. Nwanevu. The Lincoln Project Doesn't Matter. July 27, 2020. The New Republic. November 10, 2020. November 9, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201109202256/https://newrepublic.com/article/158632/lincoln-project-doesnt-matter. live.
  88. News: Max . Boot . The Lincoln Project understands that Trump's enablers must pay a price . https://web.archive.org/web/20200727073906/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/22/lincoln-project-is-trying-save-republican-party-itself/ . July 27, 2020 . The Washington Post . July 22, 2020.
  89. News: Conservative think tank director says Lincoln Project members beholden to pro-business Republicans . The Hill . July 28, 2020 . July 29, 2020 . July 29, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200729062354/https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/508761-conservative-think-tank-director-says-lincoln-project-members-are-beholden-to . live.
  90. Web site: Lowry. Rich. July 28, 2020. The Self-Importance of The Lincoln Project. May 27, 2021. National Review.
  91. News: Heer. Jeet. March 10, 2021. A Fraud, Not a Lincoln. en-US. The Nation. November 5, 2021. 0027-8378.
  92. News: Mitchell . Lincoln . How the Lincoln Project's brutal anti-Trump ads could remake US politics . CNN . July 23, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200724095713/https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/23/opinions/lincoln-project-anti-trump-ads-remake-politics-mitchell/index.html . July 24, 2020 . live.
  93. News: Karni. Annie. October 12, 2020. The Crowded, Competitive World of Anti-Trump G.O.P. Groups. en-US. The New York Times. October 13, 2020. 0362-4331. October 13, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201013105408/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/us/politics/never-trump-republicans.html. live.
  94. Web site: GOP Cribs . May 20, 2020 . YouTube . The Lincoln Project . September 14, 2020 . November 3, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201103083417/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYpTJTngXE8&ab_channel=TheLincolnProject . live.
  95. News: Trump Replaces Campaign Manager . Andrew . Restuccia . Rebecca . Ballhaus . July 16, 2020 . . September 14, 2020 . September 29, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200929060139/https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-replaces-campaign-manager-11594861502 . live.
  96. Williams. Paige. Inside the Lincoln Project's War Against Trump. October 5, 2020. November 7, 2020. The New Yorker. en-us. November 8, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201108204258/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/10/12/inside-the-lincoln-projects-war-against-trump. live.
  97. News: Sirota: Lincoln Project election efforts to swing GOP votes from Trump 'epic failure'. November 7, 2020. The Hill. November 7, 2020. November 7, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201107012219/https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/524808-sirota-calls-lincoln-project-election-efforts-to-swing-gop-votes-from-trump. live.
  98. News: Michael. Ruiz. AOC wants anti-Trump Lincoln Project to give money to those who 'actually' made a difference. November 7, 2020. FoxNews.com. November 7, 2020. November 7, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201107071206/https://www.foxnews.com/politics/aoc-lincoln-project-give-money-away. live.

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