New Republican ad attacking Trump goes after his base and the Confederate flag
A new ad calls the Confederate flag a symbol of racism and treason against the United States, taking aim at President Donald Trump and those in his base who fly the flag.
The new ad is from The Lincoln Project, a Republican super PAC created to help defeat Trump in the 2020 election. It was founded by notable members of the GOP, including George Conway, husband to White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
The group released the ad Sunday as protests and riots spread around the country over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died as a police officer kneeled on his neck for more than 8 minutes.
Releasing the ad on Sunday night on Twitter, the group said, “No patriotic American should brandish or proudly celebrate the iconography of a rebellion that resulted in tremendous devastation, the loss of more than 620,000 American lives, and the continued subjugation of Black America.”
Over images from the violent right-wing protests in Charlottesville, Va., and people flying Confederate flags at Trump rallies, the narrator asks, “What does it say that they’re all in for Trump? What does it say that he won’t condemn the flag of hate, division and losers?”
“The men who followed this flag 150 years ago knew what it meant — treason against their country. The death of the United States,” the narrator says over images from the Civil War.
“America defeated the men who followed that flag. Those with honor surrendered and cast it aside forever. So why does it keep showing up today at events supporting Donald Trump?” the ad asks.
In a statement, Lincoln Project co-founder Reed Galen said, “The Confederate flag is a symbol of slavery and disunion. Its history is one of sowing division and oppression. Those who fly it proudly are celebrating the legacy of American slavery, the wrongful, and violent insurrection that followed, and the oppressive Jim Crow regime that came into power in many states.”
“President Trump’s co-opting of the Confederate Flag and relationships with known white nationalists like Stephen Miller, Steve Bannon and David Duke shows his true beliefs,” the group said in a statement.
“His blatant racism, dog whistles and disinterest in unifying the country, particularly in recent days following the death of George Floyd, show just how far he is willing to go to stoke fear, incite violence, and ensure the country descends into further chaos up to the election,” the statement said.
