The Lincoln Project’s cofounders told “60 Minutes” on Sunday night that they love it when Donald Trump sees their ads and lashes out in response.
“Every time Donald Trump loses his mind and throws things at the wall because a Lincoln Project ad is up, that takes the whole campaign off track,” cofounder Rick Wilson told the CBS News show. “There’s one thing you never get back in a campaign. That’s a lost day.”
The never-Trump Republicans said they know just how to get the president’s attention, too.
“We have a standing buy on Fox News in Washington, D.C. with ‘Fox and Friends,’ Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity every night,” said cofounder Reed Galen, referring to the purchase of constant ad time. ”[W]e know he’s in the residence with his super TiVo watching.”
Trump is known for watching Fox News in general and those three shows specifically, often calling into them, giving shout-outs to the hosts at his rallies and tweeting about what’s on the air at any given time.
His own campaign has also invested money in ads in the D.C. market, reportedly to get his attention. D.C. isn’t part of a swing district, but The Daily Beast reported over the summer that the purchases were meant to make Trump feel good when he tunes in.
Along with Galen and Wilson, the Lincoln Project’s other cofounders include attorney George Conway, husband of former White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway, along with Republican strategists Steve Schmidt, John Weaver and Jennifer Horn. It’s one of several conservative-led groups running attack ads against Trump.
“60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl asked Wilson if the negative tone of the ads would turn off voters.
“There’s always a reflexive sort of do-gooder instinct to say, ‘Oh, I hate negative ads,’” Wilson said. “People do hate negative ads, but negative ads work.”
See the full segment below: