Lincoln Project launches new ad comparing Trump and Putin after Navalny death

Following the death of Russian opposition figure and fierce Vladimir Putin critic Alexei Navalny in a penal colony, the anti-Donald Trump super PAC Lincoln Project branded the right-wing leaders as “twins” in a scathing new video.

Navalny was reported dead on Friday after he allegedly went for a walk and fell unconscious in prison. In response, President Joe Biden said, “Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” while Mr Trump has so far remained silent on the matter.

The Lincoln Project took Mr Trump’s silence a step further, creating an ad that highlights similarities between Mr Trump and Mr Putin.

“Vladimir Putin is a murderer who kills people for speaking out against him. Donald Trump admires this in him. The reason he demanded immunity is because he wants to have the same powers as Putin,” the super PAC captioned the ad on X.

“Why does MAGA love Vladimir Putin so much? He reminds them of someone they love,” the narrator begins. “Both are pathological liars,” the narrator begins before listing an example.

A translation of Mr Putin says, “We will be aiming at denazification of Ukraine” followed by a video of Mr Trump saying, “I think it was an insurrection caused by Nancy Pelosi.” The January 6 Select Committee wrote in its final report that the former president was the “central cause” of the Capitol riot.

The narrator then adds, “Both hate democracy,” while showing a clip of Mr Trump and Mr Putin shaking hands.

“Both use violence to attack law and order,” the narrator says before flashing a video of Mr Trump speaking at a Washington, DC rally on January 6, regarding his 2020 election loss: “We will never give up, we will never concede. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved.”

The narrator continues, “Both demean women.” The ad then shows a brief clip of the Access Hollywood bus where Mr Trump uttered the now-infamous phrase: “Grab ‘em by the pussy.”

The ad then captures the Russian leader talking to a man with the translation under him reading: “I’m not a woman so I don’t have bad days.” It then cuts to the interview between images of Megyn Kelly and Mr Trump, as a recording of him talking about the journalist plays:: “There was blood coming out of her wherever.”

The narrator pivots to his next point of comparison: “Both think their supporters are stupid.” While featuring a clip of Mr Putin holding a pen, a news broadcaster says, “Vladimir Putin has signed a decree banning so-called homosexual propaganda.”

Then, the ad cuts to a clip of the Ivy-League-educated Mr Trump saying, “I love the poorly educated.”

“But the one big difference between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump,” the narrator interjects as a clip of the pair shaking hands plays, “In America, our votes count. We can stop Donald Trump.”

“Don’t let MAGA turn America into Russia. Vote because you still believe in America,” the narrator says.

Despite a series of ongoing legal battles — including a recent civil fraud case judgment that fined Mr Trump $350m — the former US president is still the 2024 Republican frontrunner.