The Lincoln Project is back to targeting Donald Trump, waving off recent controversies about their own organization, and warning lawmakers to save their “legacies” and “save America” by voting to impeach the former president.
“For a moment, put aside your fear,” announces the new Lincoln Project ad, which is rife with images of the US Capitol building and the riot that occurred there on January 6.
The ad directly addresses lawmakers set to vote in Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, which kicks off this week, telling them it will be the “most important vote” of their careers and warning that “your legacy is on the line.”
#SaveAmerica is the number 1 trending topic in the country.
To those that have already made it clear they are against the impeachment trial, the ad gets especially critical – which should not be surprising, since the trial has received mostly criticism from Republicans (though some in the party have indicated support), and criticizing Republicans who agree with Trump is how the Lincoln Project made a name for itself.
The group calls Republicans’ defenses of the former president “hollow, cynical, and desperate.” For those who don’t vote to convict Trump for inciting insurrection, “blood will be” on their “hands, souls, and legacies,” the anti-Trump Republicans promise.
“America is watching,” they warn. Thousands of Trump critics have jumped on the #SaveAmerica hashtag attached to the video, using it to encourage their senators to vote to impeach.
Expel Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Kevin McCarthy, Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, Mo Brooks, Ron Johnson, Louis Gohmert, Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, Matt Gaetz, Steve Scalise, Lauren Boebert & Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The Lincoln Project’s #SaveAmerica hashtag was, somewhat ironically, one of the only times they trended in a major way on social media this year for something other than their own internal struggles and scandals.
The group’s co-founder John Weaver left the organization last month after an explosive report alleged he had been sending unwanted, explicit text messages to young men for years, and even offering them jobs and professional help in exchange for sexual favors. The report followed weeks of rumors and accusations.
The Lincoln Project denied knowledge of wrongdoing and released a statement that left many scratching their heads, blasting Weaver as “a predator, a liar, and an abuser” and claimed he had never been in the physical presence of anyone in the company, despite being a co-founder.
This month, another co-founder, Jennifer Horn, ended her relationship with the group and cited Weaver’s “grotesque and inappropriate behavior” – as well as “differences” over the best way to move the organization forward – as the reason for her exit.
The group released yet another statement that only poured gasoline on the fire, saying Horn was actually leaving because of numerous contract disputes and was asking for too much at a time when the company was “under attack from the Trump organization and their propaganda allies.”
The back-to-back resignations have given longtime critics the opportunity to point out other perceived flaws in the think tank. Journalist Glenn Greenwald slammed the outfit as the “most audacious, flagrant and successful political scam I’ve seen in my lifetime” after Horn’s firing. Greenwald noted that $65,000 of crowdfunded money was supposed to produce an anti-Trump film that still has not materialized.
The @ProjectLincoln is the single most audacious, flagrant and successful political scam I’ve seen in my lifetime and it’s not even close.
That it’s all falling apart now is inevitable but only after they all got their new boats, kitchens, and cars.https://t.co/eGbFK30RWq
Oh, and also, the @GoFundMe campaign where @TheRickWilson collected $65,000 from gullible liberals by promising in 2018 to produce a devastating anti-Trump film — continually telling them it was almost done to get more $$ — is now down. Is the $ returned?https://t.co/eGbFK30RWqpic.twitter.com/DSWCjFwWZG