All language subtitles for Ep 1. Gunslingers

The reviews are in.

Here's what Trump's own people
are saying about him.

"He's a [bleep] moron."

Rex Tillerson,
Trump's secretary of state.

We're lower than the world.

Lower than the world?

"He tries to divide us."

James Mattis,
Trump's secretary of defense.

You had a group on one side,

and you had a group
on the other.

Very fine people
on both sides.

"He's an idiot."

John Kelly,
Trump's chief of staff.

They weren't laughing at me.

"A professional liar."

Gary Cohn,
Trump's economic advisor.

There will be no lies.

"He thinks he's God."

Barbara Res, SVP
of Trump Organization.

I am the chosen one.

"Like an 11-year-old child."

Steve Bannon, Trump's advisor.

If I don't take
responsibility--

Can America survive
four more years?

The Lincoln Project
is responsible

for the content
of this advertising.

So what do you think?

I love it, and it's great.

It's almost like we know what
the fuck we're doing, right?

Watch the dogs.

Donald Trump has had
an enormous,

transformative effect
on the GOP,

and I think probably
a fatal effect on the GOP.

It is a philosophy we call
a turd in the punch bowl.

A phrase my grandmother
used to love,

and once you've had a turd
in the punch bowl,

it's not punch anymore.
It's shit water.

Dad, can I get you
a glass of wine?

Park City, Utah,
for The Lincoln Project.

Yep. 6 a.m.

Now, listen, we have run

a psych warfare campaign
on Trump

that is unprecedented
in presidential elections.

Unprecedented.

No one's ever fucked
with a candidate

like we fucked
with a candidate.

In the last 55 days,

what's the most important thing
that you can do?

So we're gonna push
to make sure

that people
are motivated to vote,

and they understand
the stakes of the election.

There'll be a lot of...

Look, I've been involved
in conservative

Republican politics
since 1987.

One of the things I remember

about growing up
in this house was,

I would listen to
Rush Limbaugh on the way home,

and then he would
turn on MSNBC.

Yeah.

So it was hard
to tell what he agreed with.

Now, it's even easier
than that.

It's, "You can stand
with America,

or you can stay with Trump."

This fight,
in a lot of weird ways,

started when I started
opposing Trump in '15.

And folks, as you may
be able to see,

I have my Steve Bannon
painting up above my--

my rig here.

Steve Bannon sent out an email
that said,

"Go after him. Destroy him.

Business, wife, kids,
everything."

And one of his writers
wrote an article

making a big, old funny joke
about my daughter being raped.

He thought that was hilarious,

so I made sure
Steve Bannon knew.

I will fuck you,
until the end of time.

Trumpism is not an ideology.

Trumpism believes in adulation
of a dear leader,

and that's all it believes in.

It's a cult that alt right

took notes from ISIS

- about how to do this...
- Yes. Yes.

And how to radicalize
these people, and it's true.

It is 100% true. Yeah.

These are the same
fanatic movements

have used throughout history,
to tell people,

"Unless you are with us,
everything will be destroyed."

Look, we're running a series
of ads called Radicalizer...

When we started
The Lincoln Project,

our goal was
to defeat Donald Trump

and Trumpism
and Trump's enablers.

I don't care
if you like my principles.

I don't care if you like
what I believe in.

You want to win or not?

- I love you.
- I love you.

See ya.
- I'll see you soon.

Okay, come out to Park City.

So here we come.

Look, I've been involved
in a dozen super PACs.

None of them had
a mission like this.

We don't have a client.

We weren't here to move
some legislative agenda item.

We're here to kick the shit
out of Donald Trump.

upbeat percussive music

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Lincoln Project.

Steve Schmidt. Rick Wilson.
Jennifer Horn.

Ron Steslow.
Mike Madrid. Reed Galen.

As I once was, the
men and women on this stage

were the architects
and operators

and storytellers
of a political system

that we must acknowledge
is broken.

But we have, as the great
political philosopher

Liam Neeson once said,

a particular set of skills.

Skills that make us a nightmare
for people like Donald Trump.

I am a Republican
because I believed

that the principles upon which
our party was founded,

the principles of Lincoln,

strengthened and raised up
everyone in our community,

regardless of who they are
or how they vote.

But this is not
the Republican Party of today.

The GOP, which many of us
have worked

probably collectively
for hundreds of years,

just on this stage,

is a party bereft
of ideological underpinnings.

It was difficult
growing up gay,

in a conservative,
evangelical home

with pastors for parents...

...and going on to work
in Republican politics

for 17 years.

The view of Lincoln.

Bold, confident, righteous.

The view of Trump?

A call to cowardice, fear,
and isolationism.

This season of malice
and meanness

and indecency will pass.

Whatever our differences
may be, we are all Americans,

and we're called to do our duty
to participate,

to fight,

and that's the mission
of this organization.

And we look forward
to fighting with you.

I was coming off

the Schwarzenegger campaign
in 2007,

and so I'd been asked

to run a couple
of the campaigns,

and I went with John McCain.

Tonight, I have a privilege

given few Americans.

The privilege of accepting
our party's nomination

for President
of the United States.

Steve Schmidt
is the chief strategist

for the McCain-Palin campaign.

Lindsey Graham,
the senior senator

from the state
of South Carolina.

A very close friend
of John McCain's.

- Hi, gentlemen. Good evening.
- Great to see you, Kate.

Nice to see you both.
Thanks for coming by.

Steve, let me
start with you...

What John McCain symbolized
is the Republican Party

that I believed in.

Honor. Courage. Sacrifice.

He had those virtues.

What is your name?

Lieutenant Commander
John McCain.

He was the most
critically injured POW,

and they gave him
the option to leave,

but honor meant
something to him.

He wouldn't break
the honor code

that you leave in the order
that you come in on.

suspenseful music

John McCain.
He's not a war hero.

- He's a war hero.
- He's a war hero.

Five-and-a-half years,

he was held in captivity.

He's a war hero
'cause he was captured.

I like people
that weren't captured, okay?

I hate to tell you.
So he's a war hero.

Do you hear that?

He's a war hero
because he was captured.

Trump is responsible
for unspeakable damage

to the national fabric.

Donald J. Trump
is calling for a total

and complete shutdown
of Muslims

entering the United States.

He is, I think, the most
divisive president

we've ever had
in the Oval Office.

He is really
very much of a leader.

I mean you can say, "Oh,
isn't that a terrible thing?"

The man has very strong
control over a country.

One of the things that's
important to understand,

you know, at the beginning
of this, right,

everyone in the
Republican Party--everybody--

was opposed to Trump.

If we nominate Donald Trump,

and he carries the banner
of the Republican Party,

we will not just
lose the election.

We've lost the heart and soul
of the conservative movement.

That's what's at stake.

There is no way we are going
to allow a con artist

to take over
the conservative movement,

and Donald Trump
is a con artist.

This man is
a pathological liar.

He doesn't know the difference
between truth and lies.

He lies practically every word
that comes out of his mouth.

I will faithfully execute
the office of President

of the United States
and will...

The fact is that,

if you get on the wrong side
of Donald Trump,

his power over his base
is significant enough

that he can kill you.

It's a remarkable thing

to watch the total surrender

to Trump, to Trumpism.

I like the President.
I want to help him.

I hope he's successful.
He's been a friend to me.

In 2020, Donald Trump will be
overwhelmingly reelected

as President
of the United States.

I could stand
in the middle of Fifth Avenue,

and shoot somebody, and I
wouldn't lose any voters, okay?

It's, like, incredible.

Ultimately,
there were about

25 of us Republicans left,

and we all know each other.

So for the next 60 days,
you know,

having people here
at Park City,

we think our ability
to work faster

and help shape
the narrative of this

will be much greater
with all of us together.

Michelangelo was asked
to paint The Last Judgment

during the Reformation.

You know, in many ways,

artists were the first
political consultants.

They were using
these images as propaganda.

They were using these images

to teach
an illiterate population

what was right
and what was wrong.

And so if you choose
the wrong route,

you cast yourself
into eternal damnation.

If you choose the right path,
there's redemption.

inquisitive music

I'm from Southern California.
My people are from Mexico.

A lot of the thematics
that I've been working on

are the clashing
of the Latino culture

and traditional
American iconographies.

When I was 26 years old,
and I was a political director

of the California
Republican Party,

I spent my career working
on Latino voter turnout.

In 2000, I worked with
the Bush administration,

and he accomplished
what no Republican

had really ever
accomplished before.

speaking Spanish

Bush got over 40%
of the Hispanic vote.

speaking Spanish

That was the
Republican Party I joined.

When Mexico sends its people,

they're not sending
their best.

They're bringing drugs.
They're bringing crime.

They're rapists, and some,
I assume, are good people.

I was very publicly
and vocally

against Donald Trump

and got a call
from The Lincoln Project gang.

They said, "Hey, there's
a group of us that are

thinking about doing something
a little bit unique."

Rattled off the names
and said,

"What do you think?"

And I immediately said, "Yeah.
I'm with you. Let's go."

A little worried about how
to dress for snow in Park City.

The entire party
has become morally bankrupt.

Starting route to Park City.

And I realized
my highest and best use

was burning down something
that I had helped build up

over my entire adult career.

The Lincoln Project
blasts the President

with viral ad after viral ad.

They're able to do
what Biden's campaign can't--

go a little bit low
and hit Trump where it hurts.

And the strategy
appears to be working.

He has called them losers.

He's called these Republicans
human scum.

Oh, hey, Reed, it's John.

- How are you, man?
- Hey, man. What's going on?

You're pretty
famous these days.

Shit.

I leave the fame
to Steve and Rick.

I know. [laughs]

Congratulations on getting
the project up and running

and well-known
and well-funded.

Yeah, well, thank
the President for all that.

And there's
the money to sustain?

Yes, and the vast majority
of our money

comes not from major donors,
but from individual donors.

Probably a lot of Democrats
with Republicans

and independents mixed in.

I think our average
contribution's, like,

you know, 50 bucks.

And who's making the ads?

We do 'em internal.

We have a morning meeting,

and we come up with
a series of creative ideas.

Usually, it's me,
Rick, and Steve.

- Hey, man.
- Hey. How are you?

What's going on, dude?

Good to see you.

And then we bring
folks in and out as necessary.

Sarah Lenti.

Sorry. I'm so sorry about that.

And Keith Edwards,
our communications director.

- Hi, Stu. How are you?
- I'm good.

Stuart is now in the ballgame,

and we don't take
days off, really.

And we launched
the Radicalize one today, so--

It's out?

- Huh?
- It's out?

- It's out. Yeah.
- It's out.

Reject the hate.
Reject the violence.

America or Donald Trump.
Stand up for America.

It has, like,
half a million views.

Really?

It'll be up in the D.C.
market tomorrow.

So isn't it time
to kind of start deciding

what we're gonna prioritize?
Like--

Yeah, I think we need to create

as much broadcast-ready content
as soon as we can

so that when the opportunities
present themselves,

that we're ready to deploy it.

I think we have
to keep an eye

on the escalating violence

inside the right-wing
crazy channel.

Right, there should be
more Boogaloo Boys.

His racial animus campaign.

All right,
well, if that's the case,

then let's talk about
what we want to do next week.

Okay. Well, I--

What about, like,
all the Hispanic vote numbers?

So Madrid's pulling together Republican,

independent,
and Democratic Latino groups,

to get out the vote,
so the political team--

They're already on it.

But it's not enough
if they can't bring

that Hispanic vote into line,

so I need some--

I need some-some
voter modeling.

I need to look at the numbers.

We actually...

My job is to actually
look at the voter segments

that we're trying to move
off of Donald Trump

and towards Joe Biden.

So what I need to know
is how many new Puerto Ricans

left the island
after the hurricane

and are voting-eligible
in that state.

Actually already got that.

So if we got 4% of Republicans

to move off of Donald Trump,

there's a very good chance
we're gonna win this thing.

There, then we're in
a very good position.

It sounds like
it should be easy,

but in a hyper-partisan
environment, it's-it's hard.

So you're the guy
who posts on Twitter?

Yes.

I'm the only person
on the Twitter.

What's the biggest amount

of traffic you've had
in one post?

For a tweet?

It was, like, probably, like,
around 14 million impressions.

Do you guys spend
a lot of money on Facebook?

Yeah, we spent--probably,
in the past seven days,

I think we spent $450,000.

We will probably spend
4 million to 5 million

in the next 30 days.

Just on Facebook?

It's our primary way
of reaching people

that we know
are persuadable voters

who might change their mind.

I ran a large portion
of the budget

for some of the Koch Brothers'
groups in 2014, but--

Ooh, girl.
You're gonna get hate for that.

Well, it is what it is,

and if I hadn't done that,

I wouldn't know
how to do this, so.

There you go.

No, I know. I know.
I'm sorry. Just joking.

It's just like, it's very bold
to admit on camera.

No, it's deserved,
but I didn't support Trump.

I left the party in 2015,

and so as soon
as this group sprung up,

I was just like--

I was like,
"Hey, guys. I want to help."

I'm a Democrat.

Why did you want to work

with a bunch of Republicans?

There's just something about it
that felt

like the right cause
at the right moment.

And how did you hook up

with The Lincoln Project?

I randomly messaged

one of the founders on Twitter.

Which one?

John.

Weaver?

Literally a month
without a job, and I said,

"Hey, if you know anyone
looking for someone to hire,

I'm looking."

I'm delighted today to welcome
to the program John Weaver.

He is a politico
who needs no introduction,

but the most important
thing to know about him is,

he is the founder
of The Lincoln Project.

What is the foundation
of The Lincoln Project?

Look, when we first decided
to move forward

with The Lincoln Project,

we were increasingly
alarmed at the conduct,

not only of Donald Trump--

And where is John Weaver?

John's in the hospital.

John had a heart attack.

Oh, okay, so he's not coming?

He can't. Oh, my God.
And it just happened? Shit.

A month. Six weeks ago.

It's important for him
not to be agitated... [laughs]

...you know, with politics
and all this.

I'm running against
Sleepy Joe Biden,

but I'm also running against
some really stupid Republicans

that don't understand
how good they had it.

I've defeated them all.

You know, they were
all my opponents,

and they've never
gotten over it.

Guys. Weaver and Schmidt.

All losers,
and they've gone crazy.

They go out, and they tried
buying commercials.

They've never gotten over
losing to me.

So that's the Park City
Mountains over there,

and that canyon's where I live.
It's down the way a little bit.

I think we wanted
to have everybody

in a place where, you know,

we could reduce that friction
from discussion,

to decision, to action.

When I worked
for George W. Bush, right,

I was an advance guy.

It's a great gig
when you're in your 20s,

and it's a lot of fun,

but, like, nobody likes
advance guys, right?

Like, they show up,
they make a lot of noise,

they cause a lot of trouble,
they spend way too much money,

and they get to greet
the airplane

and the motorcade
when the president arrives,

and then they leave
and go off and do it again.

So we got to sort of live on
the road and by our own rules,

but nothing like this

where you actually have
an organization

that you get to lead.

And I mean, look,
we couldn't have done it

without Sarah Lenti.

We're all here now.

There's, like, 20 of us,
so we're capping it.

If she hadn't been here
when we took off in May,

we would never have been able
to scale as quickly as we did.

This isn't a vacation.
Got shit to do.

Reed is a dear friend.

We were on the
Bush campaign together,

and then we both worked
for the president.

I was there 2000-2005,
so when Reed called me

and told me about
The Lincoln Project,

I said yes immediately

and became the
executive director in April.

I lost all of my clients
but two.

I also lost friends.

Yeah, it was a risk.
It was a huge risk.

We've been talking
about this idea.

I'm gonna run you through it.

So back in the '80s,
there was this series of ads.

They all would make
one simple accusation like,

"Buddy MacKay wants to raise
your taxes through the roof."

And then every single one
of them ended with,

"Hey, Buddy.
You're a liberal."

I'm thinking we should do
25 ideas that all end in,

"Hey, Donald.
You're a loser,"

'cause he hates being
called a loser.

He hates it so much.

There's a central point about
fucking with Donald Trump

and trolling Donald Trump
in this campaign.

It works.

Come up with something quick.

Make it convincing.
Dance, monkey, dance.

But I just like--I like
calling him a loser

'cause it effs with him.

The discipline of writing
a 30-second TV ad

is 70 words over
and over again.

The flashy viral video ads.

They're a central tenet

of what we do
at The Lincoln Project,

because it is a game
of very small numbers.

We don't need to move
a million votes in Michigan.

We need to peel off
the narrow slices

of Republican voters living
in a few small places.

Running ads
can swing this election.

Yes, by the way,
just as a quick aside,

I am the person who has managed
to put the first dick joke

into an American political ad.

Hey, Donald. Turnout in Tulsa?

A dud.

You've probably
heard this before,

but it was smaller
than we expected.

It sure wasn't as big
as you promised.

upbeat percussive music

This the right way?
I hope so.

Bring it in.

Ricardo.

Hail, hail.
The gang's all here.

All done.
All done. It's over.

Aww.

I want us to keep
looking at these numbers,

and I want to go over
the raw vote numbers

that we're gonna need
from the Latino

vote share to show up.

I need you to poll me a
differential between 16 and 18.

The hard number.

Maricopa County
specifically, okay?

Messaging for Arizona.
What is moving voters?

We're gonna be talking
about a military message

to Hispanic families specifically.

We're gonna start organizing
with some of our allies,

in terms of a Geo TV effort
with Latinos,

and then Conor's gonna start
pounding the 65-plus group.

The Lincoln Project,
it's like an iceberg.

What you're seeing
at the top is the ads,

but there's a whole bulk
of work underneath it

that is designed to sway
voters in the right places

and with the right message.

That's what we do
in the political shop.

How do we know
if it's effective or not?

So we can track which ads
are being viewed

the longest in which places,

even a county-by-county level,
if we want to.

For example, if we saw in--

Do people really behave
differently by county?

Very.

- Really?
- Mm-hmm.

Everyone's been
noticing this long-term trend

of Black and Latino voters

just skyrocketing in the South,

and that's gonna have
a transformational effect

over the next forever,
in the U.S.

Without the political team

and the digital team,

I think people would view us
as just a group

of former Republicans
who are pissed off

and creating viral ads,

and that are just going out
into the ether

and doing nothing.

Look, I think we were dead-on

by saying Arizona's key
to this whole thing.

So we want to be able
to go back and say,

"No, we actually--we were
in these states

with these ads
moving these voters."

Because I really want Arizona
off the table.

I want to strangle
that side of the map.

We begin
tonight with growing outrage

in the wake
of an explosive report

claiming the president insulted
members of the military.

Media outlets reporting that

President Donald Trump made
disparaging comments

about America's fallen troops,

including calling
U.S. Marines killed

in World War I
"losers and suckers."

It's a fake story,

and it's a disgrace
that they're allowed to do,

and that somebody could say
the kind of things,

and especially to me,

'cause I've done more
for the military

than almost anybody else.

Given the fact
that veterans make up such

a large chunk of his base,

the White House
and the campaign

are looking to put this behind
them as quickly as possible.

The military stuff has put
a massive dent in them

with the vets
and the suburban women.

From what perspective
do we want

our messaging to come from?

He's faithless.

He has betrayed his duty

as the commander-in-chief.

America's moms have
given their sons and daughters

to fight and die.

That is something that Donald
Trump can never understand.

We gotta look
for the weak place

every day and attack on it.

Yep.

- Up?
- Yeah.

- Here?
- There you go.

soft pensive music

Federal agent.

- How are you, sir?
- Good. Good morning.

So do you have a Zoom link
for them,

or what are we gonna do?

They're going over the script
right now, Rick.

Good.

'Cause they don't need to act.
They just need to be.

That's what I always
tell people.

Don't act. Just be.

Lieutenant Colonel
Alex Vindman

joined the Trump
administration in 2018

when he was asked to serve on
the national security council.

Now at the hearing,

Vindman raised
serious concerns

about the president's
phone call

with the Ukrainian president.

President Trump personally
ordered the suspension

of hundreds
of millions of dollars

in military aid to Ukraine

just days before
he encouraged their president

to investigate his political
rival, Joe Biden.

My intent was to raise
these concerns

because they had significant
national security implications

for our country.

First of all,
he reported a false call.

What was said on the call
was totally appropriate,

and I call it a perfect call.

I always will call it
a perfect call.

My preference was actually

to not do anything
with the media,

but this is still, I think,
probably impactful,

so I'm prepared to do that.

You guys ready?

I usually wear glasses,

and it might be hard
for me to read.

This is American Family,
take one.

Action.

As a soldier, I never expected
to be attacked

by my own government.

The Vindman ad puts the lie

to everything of Trumpism.

Speaking the truth.
You fired him because of that.

When he did the right thing
by reporting corruption,

I told him--I said,
"They're gonna fire you,

and they're going to shit on
your 21-year military career."

American Family, take ten.

The America I served
is better than that.

Hey, Alex.

I hear you're rocking
the movie star thing, man.

Yeah, we knocked it out
all in one take.

That's incredible.

This is what wins it, right?

This is gonna drive him
out of his goddamn mind.

Dad, do not worry.

I will be fine
for telling the truth.

With Colonel Vindman, I'm not
going to focus or comment

on a former junior employee.

Well, I'm not happy with it,
but you'll see.

I mean,
we'll see what happens.

The most
powerful man in the world

came after our family,

but what happened to us
can happen to anyone.

This is America.

This is the country
I've served and defended.

Here right matters.

Listen, The Lincoln Project?

I've been watching them,
and I really think

they are going
to give the Democrats

a run for their money.

inquisitive music

And if you really
want to have a lovely day,

listen to The Lincoln Project commercials.

They're really excellent.

Look how good I look,
just 'cause I'm happy.

I'm all the way with you guys.

I've given more money
to The Lincoln Project

than anything else.

Hey, everybody.

Hey, hey. Hey, hey.

Who am I talking to?

You got Mike over here.
Zack Czajkowski over here.

Mike Madrid.

Sí. Claro que sí.
How are you?

Hey, I'm honored
to be talking to you guys.

The work you're doing
is incredible.

Your humor
and cutting-edge commentary.

It's so exciting.
It gets me pumped.

Thanks.

So we're gonna run
a couple things by you.

The marquee part
of our big push

on the national Latino effort.

We are concentrating
specifically in Florida

and Arizona and Texas.

Texas should be Democratic.

I mean, 40% of the population
is Latin.

12% of the population is Black.

It's predominantly
people of color.

You're pretty good
at this, man.

You might have
a future in this.

Whoo!

The big thing is,
we need to just raise awareness

and rally people,

because the big problem
with Latinos in most groups,

except for Cubans,
is just awareness.

Right, right.

You know, we tune in
a little bit later

or a lot later
than everybody else,

- and there's all--
- Because they talk to us later.

We're always the last-minute
group that they talk to,

and then we matter?
That's bullshit.

Welcome to my life
for the last 30 years.

That's exactly right.

That's what I've been
trying to solve for.

Celebrity helps, right?

We need people that are
high profile to say,

"Hey, this is going on.
Pay attention."

Sure. I'm down, man.

If you have any ideas
of anything.

We're gonna be doing
this very big summit.

Sure, sure.

Having you involved
with that would be fantastic.

Maybe shake the Mets hat.
Maybe shake the Mets hat.

Hey, that's it. That's it.
That's--

Got to get you on
the winning side or something.

I just can't believe
that you're Latin

and you're Republican, it's--

It's a unicorn thing.

It's not usually
my genre of people.

Yeah, it's very,
very, very rare,

but you know, all the
good things in life are.

What flipped you, though?
What flipped you?

What made you leave us?

I grew up in a really
small town called Moor Park.

So it's southern California.

Latino family.
All Democrats, except for me.

This was during
the Iran hostage crisis

when Carter was president.

We continue to face

a grave situation in Iran

where our embassy
has been seized,

and more than
60 American citizens

continue to be held
as hostages.

And I remember feeling
this overwhelming sense

that this country
had America on its knees.

And I remember the unease
and just the general sense

that the country felt weak.

And this politician
comes onto the stage.

Reagan comes onto the stage,

and he speaks
to a genuine confidence

that defined
the American identity.

And I felt it.

I want to help Americans

of every race, creed,
and heritage

keep and build
that sense of community

which is at
the heart of America.

I remember feeling
very deeply that,

"I want to be with that guy.

I want to be
with the strong leader."

And this is what
I was talking about.

In 1993, Trump said that
Native American reservations

operating casinos
shouldn't be allowed because,

"They don't look
like Indians to me."

What's the thing right before?

Yeah, there's video
of him saying it.

Yeah, that's what I'm saying,
so you put the date on that,

and then you put
something recent from today.

I think it's too old.

And then, in Arizona,
as you guys know,

you know,
I think Arizona's been,

you know, home to a lot
of ex-pat Californians.

The Latino community obviously
is burgeoning there,

so you know, we want
to really focus on the people

we think we can move.

Why are
African Americans still dying

at the hands of law
enforcement in this country?

And so are white people.
So are white people.

What is the question?
Why are African-Americans...

Yeah.

- Still dying?
- Just show it?

I would show
the picture of the cop--

Kneeling on his--

- Yeah.
- Okay.

It's all about race,

but the whole Republican
Party's all about race now.

I mean, it's even given up
pretending otherwise.

It's just all about race.

Yeah.

You know,
the Republican Party's

become a white grievance party.

There has always been
this element in the party.

I don't think Trump
made people more racist,

but I think he made
it okay to be racist.

It's the law and order stuff.

You know, history
shows once that's validated

by a major party,
it's very difficult to unwind.

You seem more troubled
than normal.

No, no, no.

Just the usual campaign
stretch?

Yeah.

I'd rather be us than them.

I'd rather be us than them.

That's all you can ask.

All right. Two polls out today.

There was a lot of naivete
on my part.

A lot of choosing
not to see things

as big as they clearly were.

Racism.

You know,
when I was 26 years old,

I would get three,
four calls a week

telling me to go back
to where I came from.

As the political director

of the California
Republican Party.

So you know, you just
kind of blow that off.

You find a way
to rationalize that

and blow that off, and say,

"Well that's, you know,
just some crazies."

Alabama, Georgia...

But when I look back now,

I see that, at least
since the 1960s and '70s

Republicans built
the Southern Strategy

by using fear
and racial dog whistling.

The wave of crime is not going
to be the wave of the future

in the United States
of America.

It was this
racial underpinning

that brought white Democrats
into the Republican column.

We owe it to the decent

and law-abiding
citizens of America

to take the offensive
against the criminal forces

that threaten their peace
and their security.

And it was being inflamed

and encouraged by Republicans.

Lee Atwater, he really
ushered in a different type

of political consultant.

You know,
the unsavory part of it.

apprehensive music

All right. I won't.

Bush supports
the death penalty

for first-degree murderers.

Dukakis allowed
first-degree murderers

to have weekend passes
from prison.

One was Willie Horton.

Horton fled,
kidnapped a young couple,

stabbing the man
and repeatedly

raping his girlfriend.

Do you think
the Willie Horton commercial

gives hints of racial politics?

I ain't seen the
Willie Horton commercial.

You don't have
a Willie Horton commercial

- on the air?
- No.

Furlough program commercial?

But today,
what we have seen is,

the demographics we need are
disproportionately represented

in Southern states,
in Sun Belt states.

We've never witnessed
this extraordinary

demographic transformation.

The suburbs have been changing

with the influx of larger
minority communities

combined with white
college-educated voters

that are rejecting
the old politics of the South.

In the Southwest,
it was Latinos.

In the South and up
to the Mid-Atlantic states,

it was with African-Americans.

So we have created a strategy
to place ads

in places like Arizona,
Florida, Georgia.

We started to call this
the New Southern Strategy.

It is using the racial
dog-whistling of the president

to realign the South
in the opposite direction.

Arizona has emerged as a
surprising battleground state

in this year's
presidential election.

Latinos make up a quarter
of eligible voters

in the Grand Canyon state.

Polls show
most supporting Biden.

No.

I haven't gotten nervous
before TV for years.

All right. Let's hit it.

inquisitive music

I actually know the Conways

through our
conservative circles.

It was really through
my friendship with Kellyanne,

which fell apart once she went
to the Trump campaign.

That's where
I actually met George.

George Conway,
the husband of top Trump aid

Kellyanne Conway,
is once again taking shots

at the President's
mental health.

Conway tweeted this
about his wife's boss.

"You're not 'presidential'
at all, period.

You're mentally unwell."

Good morning.
Hope everybody...

He just may be
the biggest thorn

in Donald Trump's side.

I don't know him.
He's a whack job.

There's no question about it,
but I really don't know him.

When The
Lincoln Project was formed,

I saw that it was
George and Rick,

and so I reached out to them.

Hey, Tara. How are you?

Greetings and salutations.

And they said, "Hey, we're
gonna do a streaming channel,

and it'd be great
if you joined us."

That's what I do for CNN.

I'm ready to go.
You guys ready to go?

Give me five more seconds.
Go into the countdown.

I'll be ready
by the time you're done.

Four. Three. Two. One.

Coming into
the funky bass intro.

We're building
this LPTV thing.

Hit a million viewers
in a week.

It's a great venue
to reach voters.

funky bass music

Everybody feeling good?

Oh, yeah.

Hi, Rick.

And then it comes
back live in five.

Four, three, two, one.

Hello, happy debate night,

and welcome to The Breakdown.

I am Tara Setmayer.
This is the Rick Wilson.

We have a special guest
with us tonight, Rick.

I'm so excited.

Co-founder of The Lincoln
Project, George Conway.

Welcome! Welcome.

That's great. I love that.
I love that.

I had no idea what The
Lincoln Project would become.

George, what's the chance
that Donald Trump

just storms
off the stage tonight?

You know, a meltdown is always
possible with this guy.

I'm sort of proud
that they feel

that I contributed something,

but now, I'm just
mostly a cheerleader.

He can't take it.

He cannot take
being challenged.

He cannot take
being questioned.

He cannot take the criticism.

Why was it necessary that
220,000 Americans are dead now?

I really hope that Joe Biden
is prepared for this.

Like, don't take any shit.

He needs
to basically ask the public,

"Haven't you had enough
of this craziness?

Can't we turn the volume down?

Can't we get back together,
to working together

to solve
the nation's problems?"

Something like that.

Folks, the debate is starting.

We will see you back here

as soon as this
crazy shit show ends.

Thanks, folks.

- Hello.
- Hi. Yes.

How are you, gang?
Hi, Sarah.

- Hi.
- Hi.

So I'm going to start
a rapid response.

Yes. #TheDebate.

You know, whatever
the debate hashtag is.

Sure.

No booze
or other interruptions,

so we,
and more importantly you,

can focus on what
the candidates have to say.

You gotta switch
to another network.

- Okay.
- This is low def.

Okay.

I need to see every one
of Trump's glistening pustules

and his exotic hair hat.

As we welcome
the Republican nominee,

President Trump,

and the Democratic nominee,
Vice President Biden.

Democrats think
policy makes a difference.

He walks like a centaur.

Policy never, ever, ever,
ever makes a difference.

You give me
a 600-page healthcare plan,

I'm gonna have some nerd
go through it

and find ten things
that scare the shit

out of suburban voters.

You tell me your climate plan,
I'll do the same thing.

What matters is the
performance and affect

of the two personalities
on that stage.

We do want to get rid of it.

Chris, we want
to get rid of it.

I understand,
but I have to give you

roughly equal time, please.

Trump is angry and surly.

I'm debating you,
not him, but that's okay.

I'm not surprised.

Guys, I think one of
our themes needs

to be how angry Trump is.

He is pissy.
He's small. He's bitchy.

That's the actual phrase.
He's bitchy.

I want to make sure--

You graduated last
in your class,

not first in your class.

Oh, God.
I want to make sure--

Mr. President,
can you let him finish, sir?

No, he doesn't know
how to do that.

You'll be surprised.
You'll be surprised.

You picked the wrong guy,

the wrong night,
at the wrong time.

Ooh!

Let's hashtag it, guys,

and let's lay that
into rapid response.

exciting music

The wrong guy,

the wrong night,
at the wrong time.

The wrong guy, comma,
wrong night, comma, wrong time.

Rapid response, ideally,

we're helping
pivot the narrative.

Mr. President?

You're talking about
2 million people.

He's freaking out.

The implosion was fast,
and it was furious.

When I started, we had, like,
400,000 Twitter followers.

And now we have more
than the Democrats.

Vote now.
Make sure you let people know.

Your senators.

I'm not gonna answer
the question because--

Why wouldn't you answer
that question?

- Because the question is--
- Just as radical left--

Will you shut up, man?

Oh!

Let's go, baby!

He has ended the segment.

We're gonna move on
to the second segment.

In light of all
the lies he's told--

Hey, I think our visual here
is how angry Trump looks.

Let's get really
close up on him.

I want to see the sweat.
I want to see the pursing lips.

All the, like,
grotesquery facial expressions.

The angry side-eye, et cetera.

It's crazy.
He's out of control.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I like it. Okay. Bye.

And are you willing, tonight,

to condemn white supremacists
and militia groups?

I'm willing to do anything.

I want to see peace.

Well, then do it, sir.

Say it. Do it. Say it.

You want to call 'em--what
do you want to call 'em?

Give me a name.

White supremacists.

Who would you
like me to condemn?

The Proud Boys.

White supremacists
and the Proud Boys.

Proud Boys.
Stand back, and stand by,

but I'll tell you what.
I'll tell you what...

He told the Proud Boys
to stand back and stand by?

That's it.
Gotta get that one.

"Stand back and stand by."

Right now, right now, we gotta
tweet that out from LP.

Donald Trump's signal
to the Proud Boys,

telling them to
"Stand back and stand by."

Prepare for violence.

But if I see tens of thousands
of ballots being manipulated,

- I can't go along with that.
- Here we go.

It's a fraud,
and it's a shame.

The mailmen
selling the ballots.

They're being
dumped in rivers.

This is a horrible thing
for our country.

There is no evidence of that.

This is not going to end well.

He said it's not
going to end well.

He is predicating this whole
fucking thing right now.

I think top of the list
is the white supremacist stuff.

Yep.

I think that's absolutely
fucking poison.

And then, Rick,
I think you guys gotta

hit hard and, like,
continually, sowing the seeds

of insurrection and sedition.
Use it.

Yes. Good.

tense music

Guys, this is the new logo
of the Proud Boys

that was just posted.

Just tonight. Right now.

Okay, guys, we have our
first ad out of the shop.

Are you willing, tonight,

to condemn white supremacists?

I'm willing to do anything.
I want to see peace.

Well, then do it, sir.

Say it. Do it. Say it.

That was painful, Donald.

I mean, really bad.

I'm the one that
brought back football.

Your debate reviews are...

- So stupid.
- Terrible.

Biden showed America
you're a loser, sir.

The fact is, this man doesn't
know what he's talking about.

- You have repeatedly--
- I stated it.

No.
You've been talking--

Not your finest hour, Donald.

I would love to end it.

I would love to end it.

You know,
if you want to switch seats--

- Did you hear it?
- I did.

Stand back and stand by.

You're losing, Donald.

Administration is falling apart.

Falling apart.

Your campaign
is running out of cash,

and your personal finances?

Falling apart. Ouch. So broke.

"So broke."

And it just collapsed

in front of the whole world.

Whole world.

Awesome.

Hey, Siri. Call Ben Howe.

Yeah?

I'm not sure my penis could be
any more erect right now.

That was a
land speed record, man.

I love it. All right.
Give me the cleaned-up version.

We're gonna pump it out
right now.

And these Proud Boys

are a white supremacist,
neo-Nazi group...

Right.

But this debate
was about one thing

in the end tonight.

Donald Trump intimated
and threatened violence

against this country
if he loses the election.

Nobody should under-appreciate

the radicalness--

the extremeness
of Trump's statements.

Our democracy is sustained by,
renewed by,

predicated upon free
and fair elections.

That an American president
would send a signal

to the country that evaporates

their faith and belief

in the legitimacy of the
American form of government

isn't just despicable;
it's profoundly dangerous

for the continuation
of the American experiment.

Steve, thanks very much
for coming on tonight.

Coming up for us,
the truth about vaccines.

All right.

Donald Trump could cancel the
election and remain in power

under an emergency decree.

Lock up his opponent,
close down TV stations.

I think you're smoking dope
if you don't think

that he would do that.

Holy shit. It's unbelievable.

There's the one.

I'm exhausted.

You gotta get pumped up.

I always do this, like,
right before doing anything.

Like just--it's, like, addictive.

I need a nap.

I need to incorporate a nap. Perfect.

Okay. Well, nonetheless.

Okay. Let's do it. Let's roll.

Bienvenidos.
Estimados todos, gracias.

Thank you all
for joining us tonight

for this historic event.

People that I have been
working against

for the better part of 30 years

have become friends and allies

because the threat
to the community

and the threat to our country
is so very real.

For all of you at home,

and I definitely represent
the Mexican redneck left,

I also ran Bernie Sanders'
campaign.

If you believed me
and Mike Madrid would be

on the same call
or the same video a year ago,

I'd have told you
all y'all were crazy as hell.

Well, what I wanted
to say a little bit was,

watching that
shit show last night,

Trump's debating,
it was so painful.

How do I explain that
to my children?

That the president
of the United States

couldn't denounce
white supremacists, QAnon,

and Proud Boys?

Last night, I got an email

from my father
that made me cry.

He said...

speaking Spanish

I'm gonna say it
because it's just--

speaking Spanish

We were missing somebody

to call somebody out to task

in a very partisan angle.

Dumping air bombs
on the top of the president

in Spanish and English
with TV, radio, digital, mail.

That's what's so unique
in what you're seeing here

on this Zoom call.

This don't happen
all the time.

I want to show a video
right now.

It's one of the ads
that we'll be running

in Florida, Arizona, and Texas.

Today, with this proclamation,

we're reminding
our fellow citizens

that our Hispanic heritage

is something of which
all Americans can be proud.

They're bringing drugs.
They're bringing crime.

Literally, every day,
we're seeing the movement

amongst the voters
that we need to move.

It's working.

Mike, thank you so much.

This was incredible. Yeah.

- Buenos noches.
- Thanks, guys.

Do you guys
ever talk to your bosses

at Lincoln Project about

their early years and racism?

I think we just stay focused
on now and November, you know.

It's all about the future,
not the past.

Because Stuart
talks a lot about it.

Stuart's an interesting guy.
Really interesting guy.

He's incredibly insightful.

I haven't had a chance
to talk to him about it,

but I'm sure it's fascinating.

inquisitive music

Hey, guys. We can go in.

So you come out here.

That's where the headquarters
is gonna be

in the Olympic Museum.

So the way I figure it,
I can ride my bike.

- You can what?
- Ride my bike.

Did you bring your bike?

I brought two bikes.
Mountain and road.

Stuart Stevens
is a media advisor

for George W. Bush's
presidential 2000 campaign.

He is a long-time
Republican consultant,

as well as a novelist,
a travel and television...

I don't think
you could have found

anybody in politics more
competitive than me.

But I never thought that I'd
become a political consultant.

I was in film school
and found out

that people would pay me
to make commercials for 'em.

I was really good
at political consulting.

You know, I can make
a lot of money at it.

When I came up,
there was a famous consultant,

Lee Atwater.

He would hire
somebody like me,

I was in my 20s,
to really do the races.

My first lesson
in racial politics

was in the Southern Strategy.

All politics is, at least
certainly in the South,

is played in the key of race.

So our path to victory

is to maximize white vote,

so I made commercials.

That was, like,
my work product.

Two million
illegal aliens in California.

Twenty thousand
in our prisons.

Four hundred thousand
crowd our schools.

Clinton fought Prop 187.

Gave citizenship to aliens
with criminal records.

We are the victims.

If Clinton wins, we lose.

It was playing the race card,
if I'm honest about it,

but you're able
to convince yourself

that the danger
of the other side

is greater than the flaws
of the side that you're for.

You know, we play too much
on the dark side.

But I think pretty much
everybody does.

What's the right thing to say
in this moment?

Donnie, you spent
a billion dollars.

- Hey, Don.
- You're a loser.

I think it's a great idea.

Yeah, and just let digital
go crazy with it.

For 20 years,

Barack Obama followed
a preacher of hate

and said nothing as Wright
raged against our country.

Not God bless America,
God damn America!

The U.S. of KKK-A.

He built his
powerbase in Wright's church.

Wright was his mentor,
advisor, and close friend.

Barack Obama.
Too radical. Too risky.

I think that, in many ways,

We feel a sense of
personal responsibility.

Then we'll start
to leave this party.

Like, this thing that you
worked in turned out to be,

to some not-insignificant
degree, a force for evil.

pensive music

I can't say it's not my fault.

The firm I started was
the most successful firm.

I mean, I helped elect
more than anybody else.

Blame me.

I liked the combat.

I kind of got into
being a gunslinger.

Pull.

The Lincoln Project

were like a sort of rogue
special forces outfit.

Can we use this stuff
that we know how to do

to try to make a difference?

Wouldn't call us social
justice warriors at all,

but Trump could win.

That's why I never would have
thought that, like,

consultants are the ones
that are trying to,

like, save the party?

We're, like, the moral voice
of the party?

I mean, really?

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