Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

‘Kooks, the crazies, the extremists, the angry fringe’: Lincoln Project ad blames Trump for Kenosha killings

Ad connects president’s rhetoric to killings of two Black Lives Matter protesters last month

Gino Spocchia
Tuesday 08 September 2020 12:44 EDT
Comments
New attack ad blames Trump for Kenosha killings

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Donald Trump has been condemned for his endorsement of “extremist” supporters in an attack advert blaming the US president for two killings that took place in Kenosha, Wisconsin, over the police shooting of an unarmed black man.

The advert, created by the Republican anti-Trump campaign group, The Lincoln Project, draws connections to the president’s rhetoric and the killings of two Black Lives Matter protesters last month.  

Mr Trump, who defended  teenager Kyle Rittenhouse following that shooting in Kenosha, was also described as being “dangerous” and someone who was “radicalising our young men to become killers.”

The minute-long advert expeclity links Rittenhouse’s alleged shooting of two people at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on 26 August to Mr Trump’s endorsement of the St Louis couple who brandished firearms at protesters in June.

As the advert points out, the killing of two people protesting the Kenosha police shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed black man, came 24 hours after Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St Louis couple, addressed the Republican National Convention on 25 August.

“This is sick. This is wrong. This is dangerous,” says the Lincoln Project advert. “And as long as Trump is president, he’ll keep encouraging the kooks, the crazies, the extremists, the angry fringe. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

According to the Morning Consultant, the advert will run for the first time in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, before airing across television networks and online platforms in Florida, Arizona, Pennsylvania and North Carolina later this week.

It comes after Mr Trump on Tuesday labelled Black Lives Matter protesters “thugs” and “anarchists”, and went on the attack against anti-racism demonstrators and Joe Biden, his Democratic opponent. 

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in