Jacob Ogles
Republican-rich Southwest Florida can claim credit for Sen. Rick Scott and Gov. Ron DeSantis winning squeakers in 2018. But The Lincoln Project hopes to sway voters here to destroy Donald Trump’s reelection chances.
“Our goal is to make sure Donald Trump is defeated at the ballot box,” said Jennifer Horn, a co-founder of the anti-Trump Republican group. “In order to do that, we know we only need to move 2 to 4% in the right direction in the right places to really tip the scales.”
The organization just announced a major television buy, going on air in the Fort Myers-Naples market with its “Mourning In America” ad.
It’s not the first time the Never Trump movement turned its focus to the region. Republicans For The Rule Of Law, a group associated with many of the same high-profile anti-Trump conservatives, bought billboards in the region last year urging Rep. Francis Rooney to question the White House about providing witnesses during the impeachment inquiry.
In the end, Rooney remained on the fence on impeachment longer than any other House Republican but voted against the course of action.
But Horn said the pandemic has made for a different political environment, and this ad buy reaches for voters themselves.
“It is impossible to ignore the fact the President of the United States directly contributed to the loss of life and to the crisis we’ve faced as a nation out of a selfish, politically motivated mindset,” she said.
The ad assaults Trump on his response to the COVID-19 pandemic and failure to act the way other nations did to contain the coronavirus early.
The video piece itself serves as a mirror reflection of President Ronald Reagan’s famous “Morning in America” ad. That legendary piece of marketing closed with the words: “Why would we ever want to return to where we were less than four short years ago?”
The Lincoln Project’s ad has a considerably more foreboding tone, closing with the notion “Americans are asking, if we have another four years like this, will there even be an America?”
The sharp-edged rhetoric, when released only in Washington, drew a sharp rebuke from Trump in a Twitter rant, posted at 12:46 a.m.
“These loser types don’t care about 252 new Federal Judges, 2 great Supreme Court Justices, a rebuilt military, a protected 2nd Amendment, biggest EVER Tax & Regulation cuts, and much more,” Trump tweeted. “I didn’t use any of them because they don’t know how to win, and their so-called Lincoln Project is a disgrace to Honest Abe.”
That response drew national attention, and Horn couldn’t be happier about getting under the Commander-in-Chief’s skin.
“This is very typical,” she said. “When he gets angry he stews about it all day and then he takes to Twitter in the middle of the night. All I’ll say is two things. One is what a tragedy it is that this is what he’s obsessed with. I’m pretty sure that happened the same day we surpassed the number of lives lost in Vietnam, which was over 10 years, with who we lost to COVID-19 in the last 10 weeks.
“But the second thought is, thank you very much Mr. President. Thanks to that unhinged attack, we have surpassed 15 million views and raised an extraordinary amount of money. That money is undoubtedly the reason this ad is running in Naples, Florida, today.”
The older population in Southwest Florida may well be more likely to recall seeing Reagan’s ads on television, even being influenced to reelect the President to a second term.
But will those voters see Trump as the decided stray from Republican principles that Never Trumpers perceive?
“All of us are Republicans or former Republicans,” Horn said. “I understand this is not a natural place to be, considering voting for a Democrat for President of the United States. But we are living in an unprecedented moment in time, so let’s put aside partisan differences.”
Horn labels Trump a threat to democracy and the health of Americans. Based on that, voters have an obligation to make sure he is defeated. And she said that’s not by staying at home or voting third party. It’s voting for Joe Biden to be President.
But Horn also said voters have no obligation to attack Trump in public, buy ads in swing states or engage in Twitter beefs with the President.
“We are not asking people to make a big public statement or to put their names on a list somewhere,” she said. “We’re asking them to quietly go into the voting booth on Election Day and do what they know is right for our country.
“That’s all.”
19 comments
John Kociuba
May 13, 2020 at 5:14 am
Dear Floridians~
Re: Lincoln Project is PRO COMMUNIST CHINA!
“Lincoln Project was a scam PAC. The organization is run by longtime Republican and independent political advisors, such as Steve Schmidt, John Weaver, Rick Wilson, Jennifer Horn and George Conway, husband of senior Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway.
The Lincoln Project’s big fundraising day in the wake of Trump’s tweets could be the financial boost it needs to keep pumping out more anti-Trump ads. It finished the first quarter raising $1.9 million and has just more than $1.2 million on hand. Their top donors include Walmart heir Christy Walton and Silicon Valley executive Ron Conway, records show.” ~CNBC
TRUMP2020! HELP SAVE AMERICA!
Mark
May 13, 2020 at 7:59 pm
Did you get your bleach injection yet?
Charlotte Greenbarg
May 13, 2020 at 8:02 pm
Have you learned to listen and read yet? You have a bad case of TDS
PeterH
May 14, 2020 at 12:05 am
TDS = Trump Dependency Syndrome
Jim Donelon
May 13, 2020 at 7:43 am
The Lincoln Project proves that not ALL Republicans are mindless, racist, know-nothing idiots – just the ones still supporting the IDIOT in the White House.
Charlotte Greenbarg
May 13, 2020 at 8:03 pm
You too.
morstar
May 15, 2020 at 5:10 pm
Jim, that comment is just so disconcerting. It embraces no argumentary logic but instead proclaims that somehow, because I may not agree with you that I am mindless, racist, and the redundant know-nothing idiot.
Come on Jim, you can do better than that. Here you are supporting an organization that claims the moral superiority of a political organization that claims to have conservative principles yet, it’s greatest achievement would be to support the progressive liberal agenda of Nancy Pelosi, and elect Joe Biden.
Scott F.
May 13, 2020 at 2:17 pm
Lmao..George Conway is involved i this scam pac. So you know its totally full of crap, like hame and the other establishment clowns invloved in this..
Charlotte Greenbarg
May 13, 2020 at 8:05 pm
These people are Republicans and the Chinese are blameless for the virus. They lie just as their comrades, the far left, do. A pox on their houses.
morstar
May 15, 2020 at 5:13 pm
Charlotte, these are not Republicans.
Conservative_always
May 13, 2020 at 8:36 pm
Didn’t Facebook label this ad as ‘deceptive,’ ?
Joe Puentes
May 13, 2020 at 8:53 pm
Charlotte you are a trumptard cultist – the idiots who screen Trump Derangement syndrome are the infected dimwits … people like you. Biden is crappy candidate – Trump is worse.
morstar
May 15, 2020 at 5:15 pm
Joe, what makes you think your nasty comments are worth reading? Stop being so insulting. If you have an argument to make, make it. Calling people names is not an argument it’s an insult. Stop it.
PeterH
May 14, 2020 at 12:15 am
By far, Trump is the most incompetent president this country has ever experienced. You can count on one hand the number of Washington Republicans who defend Trump’s incoherent Covid-19 response, Trump’s Ukraine mess, or Trump’s Obamagate distraction. As expected, Trump added $4 trillion to the national debt BEFORE Covid-19. I guess Laffer Curve economic policies really don’t work. Can we take back Laffer & Rush Limpdough’s medal of freedom? What an international embarrassment. Trump has made our great country the laughing stock of planet earth.
William Bibb
May 15, 2020 at 4:41 am
I dont like that word “incompetent” to describe Trump, though dont get me wrong, you are completely right. It just doesnt fit as it kind of implies his main flaw is his “incompetence”, something that affects him being able to be a good leader, and that being the most serious thing. However, Trump is something much, much worse because he is not only sociopathic, but very fucking calculating and sinister. So although he is incompetent, I would describe him more on the lines of vile, or putrid, or recently stepped-on dog shit.
morstar
May 15, 2020 at 5:27 pm
Peter it sounds as if you are more interested in what the rest of the world thinks than what the American people think. And there lies the problem with The Lincoln Project and this new progressive Democrat party. You claim a moral and political superiority with your words and insults, but you don’t back things up with valid facts. You mention the Trump Ukraine mess but you don’t seem to know anything about the facts of the Biden Quid Pro Quo mess as written with such well established facts through thorough citations in Peter Schweizer’s book Secret Empires. Biden has been bought out by Ukrainian oligarchs and the Communist Chinese Party. Ok, let’s put him in charge.
Susan Livingston
May 14, 2020 at 10:33 pm
December 18, 2019 The House voted to impeach the president for a non crime (a July 25th phone call). January 16th, 2020 the Senate trial began. February 5, 2020 the Senate voted to acquit the President. Meanwhile the do-nothing Dems did NOTHING about the Coronavirus!!
TIMELINE & FACTS PRESIDENT TRUMP’S COVID-19 RESPONSE YOU WON’T HEAR FAKE NEWS:
November 17, 2019 – 1st patient identified in CHINA . (could have been many more cases before that)
January 3rd – HHS Sec alerted by CDC Dr Redfield had “discussions with Chinese doctors about the virus”
January 4 – World Health Organization (WHO) waited for China to release info.
Saturday Jan 11 – China posted the genome of the virus online.
January 14th – WHO stated “Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found NO clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel Coronavirus.”
January 18 – CDC started testing for Coronavirus in CDC labs & US Public Health Labs Tests were 50% accurate.
NOTE: The CDC was not equipped to handle a pandemic due to antiquated regulations and procedures. They wanted to control all the testing so they could track it but were not equipped to do so.
January 20th – 1st confirmed case of COVID-19 in US.
January 21st – Firstt US person died in US from Coronavirus.
January 22 – WHO panel of experts met.
January 24th – Senate was briefed by the CDC and Dr Fauci on the Coronavirus and stated publicly that they believed it was under control.
January 27th – Congress was briefed by the CDC & Dr Fauci on the Coronavirus.
January 30th – President Trump formed a Coronavirus Task Force with medial experts, the CDC, NIH and others.
January 31st – President Trump implemented travel ban from anyone coming from China. Also quarantines for those returning from travel to China.
February 3rd – The head of the WHO said there was no reason to ever to a travel ban.
February 4th – President Trump SOTU “Protecting Americans’ health also means fighting infectious diseases. We are coordinating with the Chinese government and working closely together on the coronavirus outbreak in China. My administration will take all necessary steps to safeguard our citizens from this threat.”
February 17th – – Dr Fauci “Risk of Coronavirus in US is miniscule, just wash hands”
February 26th – President Trump asks Mike Pence to lead the Coronavirus Task Force and coordinate a “whole of government approach” to combating the virus.
END OF FEBRUARY – WHO (World Health Organization) sent out test kits to 60 countries. (not US). Tests kits were found to be only 50% effective.
President Trump realized test regulations & procedures were too slow & called in private labs to assist.
March 4th – President Trump met with private labs about testing, to develop a high thru-put test & provide testing locally at various pharmacies and retail locations.
March 11th – President Trump implemented travel ban from Europe.
March 16th tens of thousands of tests were sent out. Drive through testing set up in hot spots. CDC issued guidelines for social distancing for 15 days. Note: President Trump did NOT fire the White House Pandemic team. (look it up). More media lies. He did NOT call the virus a hoax. He said that the Dems & fake news media were trying to make his response into another hoax like the Russia Hoax & Impeachment Farce. (see 2/29/20 rally).
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/media/timeline-the-trump-administrations-decisive-actions-to-combat-the-coronavirus/
Angel A.
May 21, 2020 at 4:11 am
You seriously cited Donald J Trump.com?
January 21, 2020 – The first case of the coronavirus in the United States is reported near Seattle, Wash. It’s a 35-year-old man just back from visiting family in Wuhan, China.
January 22, 2020 – Trump: “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.”
January 24, 2020 – Trump: “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!”
January 30, 2020 -The WHO declares the coronavirus a “public health emergency of international concern.”
January 30, 2020 – Trump: We only have five people. Hopefully, everything’s going to be great. They have somewhat of a problem, but hopefully, it’s all going to be great. But we’re working with China, just so you know, and other countries very, very closely. So it doesn’t get out of hand. But it’s, you know, it’s something that we have to be very, very careful with, right? We have to be very careful.”
February 2, 2020 – Trump: We pretty much shut it down coming in from China.”
February 4, 2020 – CDC: We expect to find additional cases of novel coronavirus infection in the United States. We expect to see more cases of person-to-person spread among close contacts.”
February 4, 2020 – Trump: “We are coordinating with the Chinese government and working closely together on the coronavirus outbreak in China. My administration will take all necessary steps to safeguard our citizens from this threat.”
February 10, 2020 – Trump: “Looks like by April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away. I hope that’s true. But we’re doing great in our country. China, I spoke with President Xi, and they’re working very, very hard. And I think it’s going to all work out fine.”
February 11, 2020 – Trump: “In our country, we only have, basically, 12 cases and most of those people are recovering and some cases fully recovered. So it’s actually less.”
February 12, 2020 – CDC – “We can and should be prepared for this new virus to gain a foothold in the U.S. The goal of the measures we have taken to date are to slow the introduction and impact of this disease in the United States, but at some point, we are likely to see community spread in the U.S.”
February 24, 2020 – Trump: “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”
February 26, 2020 – Trump: “ When you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done.”
February 28, 2020 – Mick Mulvaney: “The reason you’re seeing so much attention to it today is they think this is going to be what brings down the president. That’s what this is all about.”
February 28, 2020 – Trump: “Now the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus. … One of my people came up to me and said, ‘Mr. President, they tried to beat you on Russia, Russia, Russia.’ That didn’t work out too well. They couldn’t do it. They tried the impeachment hoax. That was on a perfect conversation. They tried anything, they tried it over and over. … And this is their new hoax.”
March 5, 2020 – Trump: “Gallup just gave us the highest rating ever for the way we are handling the CoronaVirus situation. The April 2009-10 Swine Flu, where nearly 13,000 people died in the U.S., was poorly handled.”
March 6, 2020 – Trump: “Anybody that wants a test can get a test. That’s what the bottom line is.”
March 10, 2020 – Trump: : “This was unexpected. … And it hit the world. And we’re prepared, and we’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.”
March 11, 2020 – The WHO declares the coronavirus a global pandemic.
March 11, 2020 – Trump: “The vast majority of Americans, the risk is very, very low.”
Rasik Tripathy
May 26, 2020 at 9:10 am
Southwest Floridians are very smart. They will uncover the truth. Your analysis is spot on! So many 65 year olds and older died, because Trump and his Republican Senators let them perish, because being too old and infirm they would not protest in front of the White House; and they made a calculation that no matter what happens these senior citizens would still vote for Trump.
What your piece did was it would make them think that Biden, with all his gaffes, all his Anita Hill and other “Me too” incidents, is 100 times better for the Country than Trump!
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