Around 1 a.m. Monday night/Tuesday morning, Donald Trump launched into a multi-tweet rant aimed at an anti-Trump political action committee made up of conservative commentators and strategists. Under the name “The Lincoln Project,” the group, which includes George Conway (husband to Kellyanne), has published op-eds and released other videos aimed at Trump as well as his allies at Fox News and in the Senate. But so far, none of their projects has gotten this much of a reaction from Trump or the general public.
The ad, titled “Mourning in America,” blames Trump for ignoring the coronavirus that has now affected more than a million Americans, as well as for the worst economy and highest unemployment rate we’ve experienced in decades.
📺 Mourning In America pic.twitter.com/djkH0ySCqo
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) May 4, 2020
The ad is a play on a classic Ronald Reagan reelection campaign ad, “Morning in America,” which ends with the line, “It’s morning again in America, and under the leadership of President Reagan, our country is prouder and stronger and better. Why would we ever want to return to where we were less than four short years ago?”
This updated version tells its audience, “There’s mourning in America. And under the leadership of Donald Trump, our country is weaker, sicker and poorer. And now, Americans are asking, ‘If we have another four years like this, will there even be an America?’”
Trump did not react well.
A group of RINO Republicans who failed badly 12 years ago, then again 8 years ago, and then got BADLY beaten by me, a political first timer, 4 years ago, have copied (no imagination) the concept of an ad from Ronald Reagan, “Morning in America”, doing everything possible to….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2020
He called the Lincoln Project members “a group of RINO [Republican in name only] Republicans,” because he has declared himself to be the pinnacle of the Republican party (despite having switched parties five times over the last three decades) and labels any criticism of himself as party opposition.
After claiming the group has “no imagination” because their ad is just a copy of Reagan’s (which, again, is the point), Trump launched into personal attacks on its prominent members.
“I don’t know what Kellyanne did to her deranged loser of a husband, Moonface, but it must have been really bad,” he writes. He labels others “crazed” and “losers.”
He ended his rant by writing, “They’re all LOSERS, but Abe Lincoln, Republican, is all smiles!”
….because they don’t know how to win, and their so-called Lincoln Project is a disgrace to Honest Abe. I don’t know what Kellyanne did to her deranged loser of a husband, Moonface, but it must have been really bad. John Weaver lost big for Kasich (to me). Crazed Rick Wilson….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2020
….lost for Evan “McMuffin” McMullin (to me). Steve Schmidt & Reed Galvin lost for John McCain, Romney’s campaign manager (?) lost big to “O”, & Jennifer Horn got thrown out of the New Hampshire Republican Party. They’re all LOSERS, but Abe Lincoln, Republican, is all smiles!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2020
He popped back on Tuesday afternoon to vent some more.
Most of the money raised by the RINO losers of the so-called “Lincoln Project”, goes into their own pockets. With what I’ve done on Judges, Taxes, Regulations, Healthcare, the Military, Vets (Choice!) & protecting our great 2A, they should love Trump. Problem is, I BEAT THEM ALL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 5, 2020
His rant had a clear Streisand Effect on the ad, which, while not the unimaginative “copy” Trump claims it is, isn’t really anything too special. Yet it has 2.6 million views on Twitter and about 700,000 more on Youtube as of this writing. The point of the Lincoln Project is to show other Republicans it’s okay to speak out against Trump and to shine a light on why that dissent is necessary. The ad does that but not in any sort of inventively persuasive way. But Trump’s reaction–to respond to images of people suffering with calls of “Moonface”–does.
The greatest weapon we might have against Trump is himself and his own words. So it makes sense that an ad playing to an audience of one, when it hits right, is so much more effective than a dozen others. I don’t know if that was deliberate but it worked.
(via Twitter, image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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