The Lincoln Project kicks off the RNC by taking aim at 'evil' Jared Kushner
"Evil is real," the disaffected Republicans behind the Lincoln Project said in a new ad Monday morning, right as President Trump and the GOP prepare to kick off their Republican National Convention. "We ignore it when it seems educated, polite, superficially charming, even sophisticated. We trivialize it, ignore it, and when we do, it grows." That isn't a description of Trump. In this ad, the Lincoln Project is taking aim at Jared Kushner, the president's son in law, senior adviser, and de facto campaign chairman.
Specifically, the ad is about the national COVID-19 plan that Kushner helped come up with then, reportedly, scrapped when it appeared the virus would only affect states run by Democratic governors. "It was deliberate, cold, political, premeditated," the narrator said. "Some people say Trump and Kushner were incompetent when it came to COVID. But let's call it what it is: evil."
There is usually a method to the Lincoln Project's machinations. In June, for example, the group "bought up airtime in Washington, D.C., with the goal of forcing the president to view a 48-second attack ad about the personal wealth [recently ousted campaign manager Brad] Parscale had accumulated in the four years since he started working for him during the last election," Olivia Nuzzi reported in New York. "Trump did see the ad, and, later, he asked Parscale why it contained footage of 'ass slapping,'" a brief detail the group apparently just threw in.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The president wonders who's truly loyal to him and who's not and who's making a buck on him," George Conway, one of the group's founders, told New York, and from his perspective, "triggering Trump's paranoia" is one way to defeat him. "It doesn't matter who is the captain of the SS Trump, because Trump is the one who is going to run it into the iceberg in the end," he added. "If there's more chaos, all the better. We try to trigger the chaos in Trump's DNA." It isn't clear if there is a specific goal in targeting Kushner.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Today's political cartoons - November 2, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - anti-fascism, early voter turnout, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
North Korea tests ICBM, readies troops in Ukraine
Speed Read Thousands of North Korean troops are likely to join Russian action against Ukraine
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Women take center stage in campaign finale
Speed Read Harris and Trump are trading gender attacks in the final days before the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US election: who the billionaires are backing
The Explainer More have endorsed Kamala Harris than Donald Trump, but among the 'ultra-rich' the split is more even
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Supreme Court allows purge of Virginia voter rolls
Speed Read Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) is purging some 1,600 people from state voter rolls days before the election
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Empowered' Steve Bannon released from prison
Speed Read Bannon was set free a week before Election Day and quickly returned to his right-wing podcast to promote Trump
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Canada accuses top Modi ally of directing Sikh attacks
Speed Read Indian Home Minister Amit Shah was allegedly behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Harris makes closing case in huge rally at DC's Ellipse
Speed Read The Democratic nominee asked voters to "turn the page" on Trump's "division" and "chaos"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'I am not a Nazi,' Trump says amid MSG rally fallout
Speed Read Trump and his campaign are attempting to stem the fallout from comments made by speakers at Sunday's rally
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published