The Lincoln Project, a group of former Republican strategists turned Donald Trump foes infamous for their ads goading him directly, took things a step further this month with a new ad featuring an AI recreation of the former president's deceased father, Fred Trump, proclaiming, "I'm ashamed of you!"
Speaking to MSNBC's Joy Reid on Tuesday evening, Lincoln Project strategist Tara Setmayer explained a bit of the thinking behind this stunt.
"Donald Trump's entire existence has been about trying to please his daddy," said Setmayer. "And his father always knew he was a screwup. And a line that was written in that ad, if you watch the whole thing, it says, 'I may have lost my mind, but I never lost my businesses.' And haunting Donald Trump is the ghost of Fred Trump. And this may not be the only time he hears that."
Trump recently lost a devastating civil fraud case in New York. Assuming it holds up on appeal, he will owe over $350 in civil fines for systematically falsifying Trump Organization property values to manipulate his tax liability and loan terms, and will be restricted from doing business in New York for three years.
"We're doing this to remind people that Donald Trump has screwed things up," said Setmayer. "His father's business — he didn't build it, his father did. This is the same guy who bankrupted casinos, steaks, vodka, water, charities — I mean, the list is very long here, but yeah, people think he's a successful businessman? No, he's actually not."
She also promised, "We'll continue to poke at him on that."
Watch the video below or at the link here.
Donald Trump's entire life has been about gaining his father's approval. But Fred Trump has always known that Donald was nothing but a screwup. @TaraSetmayer on @MSNBC details the purpose and framing behind our latest ad ripping into Trump.— (@)
