Lincoln Project takes aim at Trump’s health in new advertisement

The Lincoln Project, a Republican super PAC partly run by George Conway, is hitting President Trump with a pair of new ads Wednesday as it works to undermine his reelection bid. 

The group, whose national profile has skyrocketed amid a longstanding public spat with Trump, released an ad Tuesday night suggesting the president is not physically well, underscoring his recent appearance at West Point where he appeared to walk gingerly down a ramp after giving a speech. 

“Something’s wrong with Donald Trump. He’s shaky, weak, trouble speaking, trouble walking. So why aren’t we talking about this?” a narrator asks in the 45-second clip. “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 it.”

“We’re not doctors, but we’re not blind. It’s time we talk about this.” 

The video of Trump slowly walking down the ramp as West Point superintendent Lt. Gen. Darryl A. Williams walked beside him went viral over the weekend and sparked renewed coverage of the president’s health.

Trump, who has frequently denigrated the appearances and mental capacities of his political opponents, later pushed back on speculation he was unwell, saying he did not want to fall and give fodder to the “Fake News.”

“The ramp that I descended after my West Point Commencement speech was very long & steep, had no handrail and, most importantly, was very slippery,” Trump tweeted. “The last thing I was going to do is ‘fall’ for the Fake News to have fun with. Final ten feet I ran down to level ground. Momentum!”

The ramp that I descended after my West Point Commencement speech was very long & steep, had no handrail and, most importantly, was very slippery. The last thing I was going to do is “fall” for the Fake News to have fun with. Final ten feet I ran down to level ground. Momentum!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2020

The Lincoln Project also announced Wednesday it has released an ad hitting Trump over his decision to hold a rally in Tulsa, Okla., the weekend of Juneteenth.

Trump initially scheduled the rally for June 19, a day that celebrates the end of slavery in the United States, but later rescheduled his event to the next night, on June 20, in response to criticism. 

The ad highlights that the rally will take place near the day that memorializes the end of slavery and in a city that saw a notorious instance of racial violence in which hundreds of black people were massacred 99 years ago.

“Trump’s decision to hold a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on the weekend of Juneteenth and in the location of the worst race massacre in American history tells voters all they need to know about him. In a time of multiple crises, Donald Trump has further divided and incited Americans rather than bring us together,” said Stuart Stevens, senior adviser to The Lincoln Project. “It’s a shame that this president has decided, once again, that stroking his own ego is more important than serving the nation.” 

The group, which was founded by prominent GOP critics of the president, has been embroiled in a months-long back-and-forth with Trump, unleashing a series of ads bashing the White House.

Among the group’s founders are Conway, the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, and Republican consultants John Weaver, Steve Schmidt and Rick Wilson.