All language subtitles for Ep 2. Its COVID, Stupid

All right,
this might take a few minutes

just to get the light right,

'cause we've got
really harsh sun right now.

But we're just gonna do a few.

If you don't mind
doing just a few.

You're just walking
this direction.

I'm just gonna shoot you
as you kind of pass this--

We're walking?
We're walking?

You're walking.

Yeah.
Like, swagger.

You know,
I didn't wear my boots today,

but you want me
to do a little--

I think if you got
a little swagger, it'll go--

All right, well, let me back up
and start over, then,

-'cause, you know--
- You gotta feel it.

I'm trying to get
a 30-minute call

to just go over, like,
some FAQs

that The New Yorker's
likely gonna ask

so that we can all be aligned

in how we wanna answer them.

What's the question?

Why there are no
women cofounders?

There is a woman cofounder.

Speaking of...

There's a woman cofounder.
End of discussion.

But, like, Jennifer's not
on this call, you know?

Part of this,
they said be bluntly honest.

Hi, have you met us?

Do you know what world
we come from?

You know, this was
a white boys' club

for a very long time.

- I know. I don't think--
- I'm not gonna bullshit.

You know, it's--

Skinny.

Skinny pictures.

I'll put the skinny filter on.

Has she turned against us?

No, but I can tell you

these are things
she's gonna ask.

Look straight ahead
to you.

We're not
the diversity council.

We're just, like,
a bunch of men and women

trying to do something.

We'll take anybody.

Yeah.

There's no vetting here.

Clearly.

pensive music

I stand before you today
to fulfill one of my highest

and most important duties

under the United States Constitution,

the nomination
of a Supreme Court justice.

This is my third
such nomination.

This should be
a straightforward and prompt

confirmation,
should be very easy.

Good luck.

It's gonna be very quick.

I'm sure it'll be
extremely noncontroversial.

Today it is my honor
to nominate

Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

President Trump's
nomination today

of Amy Coney Barrett--

a brilliant scholar, jurist,
constitutional textualist,

mother of seven with
an unblemished reputation--

will cement the conservative
leaning of the Supreme Court

for decades to come.

This alone will put the left
over the edge.

Let me ask you a question.

I mean, you know,
for the last 25 years,

we've said, you know,
R v. Wade

could be on the ballot
with the Supreme Court,

but it really hasn't been.

- Mm-hmm.
- Right.

Now it is.
What is the impact to that?

You can legitimately
say that now.

So I had probably
10 to 12 of my girlfriends

reach out last night--
all of whom are

late 30s, early 40s,
fiscally conservative--

and they're like, "Oh, my God."

And it's not--it's not like
Roe versus Wade is top of mind,

but they're smart, and they
understand that this could be

a six-three court,
and that to them is,

like, unfathomable.

I think I broadly
accept the argument that...

every voter for whom
conservative judges

was the issue

- is already with Trump.
- Mm-hmm.

I do think there is danger

that this whole thing

makes the race about something
other than COVID, right?

And I wanna come back to,
like, what we've succeeded at

in this organization:

framing messages
and narratives

and being at the tip
of the spear,

and people have followed in
behind it.

That's what our maximum impact
has been, I think,

on a lot
of the narrative stuff, right?

Like, COVID is about...

- The incompetence.
- ...a lie,

the incompetence,

but also,
he's never gonna change.

And remember,
COVID is the only thing

along with the George Floyd,
you know, death-murder fiasco

in the last
three and a half years

where Trump's floor broke with
the Republican-based voter.

That's where we started to see
really significant movement.

That's true. We know that he's
still scared shitless of it,

because every time it comes up,
he lies about it again.

Yeah.

We prosecute COVID,
and 200,000

and more growing
dead Americans

because this guy
lied to the country 119 times.

Right, we're taking it home.

I think our path--
I mean, isn't it pretty clear

we focus on COVID?

I agree.

These are the hardest-core
of the Trump haters,

but nobody should dismiss.

These are smart,
tough guys, right?

The key to The Lincoln Project
is, they say,

"We don't wanna defeat Trump.
We wanna defeat Trumpism."

These are old-school RINOs
that are globalists, okay?

And they've now applied this.

And I think, in a very
sophisticated, smart way,

they're just trying
to peel off about 4%.

Hmm.

The old-school RINOs.

Guys are sophisticated,
strategy, right?

I thought it was a good clip
of Bannon.

- Come on.
- Yeah.

Got Lincoln Project
on his head.

So the Bannon line
is a strategic focus

of The Lincoln Project.

If we get 4% of Republicans
to vote for Joe Biden,

then the likelihood
of Donald Trump losing

is really quite significant.

Truth of the matter is,
COVID is the one issue

that has proven to break
Republican support levels

against Donald Trump.

It's literally taken a pandemic
of historic proportions

to snap Republicans out of it.

It's not the authoritarianism.

It's not the disrespect
that we've engendered

around the world.

It's their family dying
because of his incompetence.

That's what it took.

So the strategy,
seeing the COVID spike

and start to literally
place ads.

As we know, the virus
is going to start growing

in these markets,

because as long as COVID
is the discussion,

it's prime opportunity
for us to go in

and start messaging into
this unfortunate situation,

which, you don't ever
wanna do this,

but it would be political
malpractice if we didn't.

tense music

All right, 30 minutes.

Let's write a script.

The Trump plan:

after months of lies
and empty promises,

he told the terrifying truth.

The Trump plan:

after months of lies
and empty promises,

he told the terrifying truth.

He wants to infect seven out
of ten Americans with COVID.

"He wants to infect"--
I can't say that.

That's not quite there.

Donald Trump
was just a terrible person.

- The worst president--
- Today.

He is the worst president
in American history.

He's divided the country.

He incited hate

and lied to all of us

about everything
tens of thousands of times.

Say goodbye to your parents,

your neighbors, your friends,

'cause the Trump plan
will kill millions.

I would love to say,
"Because of the fool

that sits behind
the Oval Office.

- Vote him out."
- We can say that.

Done.

All right.

Some people think
I'm pretty good at this shit.

I'm the anthropologist
of Donald Trump's shitty world.

The Trump plan:

after months of lies
and empty promises,

he's told us
the terrifying truth.

His herd-immunity plan
is to infect

seven out of ten Americans
with COVID.

The Trump plan will kill
at least three million people.

Say goodbye to your parents,

your neighbors,

your friends,

because the Trump plan
will kill millions

in the next four years,

maybe even you.

suspenseful music

So, Reed,
when did The Lincoln Project

really kind of take off?

Look, if COVID
hadn't come on,

I'm not sure you and I are
having this conversation,

because he gave us our opening
to really understand

how to climb inside his head
and stay there

and, you know, make the summer,
from our perspective,

about giving Trump
what he could take,

you know, day in and day out.

What happened in Hazleton

is happening around
the country: neighborhoods...

We buy Fox News in
Washington, D.C., every week--

Tucker Carlson,
Fox & Friends,

Sean Hannity--
because we know

he sits in the residence
every night

and watches Fox News.

He's like an old man, right?

He's a cranky old man.

And we knew that if we buy
these spots,

eventually he was gonna see them.

Live from the Lincoln Memorial

in Washington, D.C.,

we are joined now
by President Donald Trump.

Last May,
we heard that he was gonna

go to the Lincoln Memorial
on a Sunday night

and do a Fox News town hall.

- That's amazing.
- Thanks for doing this.

And so after that,
we put up an ad.

It was not only about COVID
but also about Trump.

There's mourning in America.

Today more than 175,000 Americans

have died from a deadly virus
Donald Trump ignored,

praising China's response

instead of heeding
the warnings,

then blaming them
to cover his own failures.

And that night
I'm sitting in bed

in front of my laptop,

and I'm like, " What?

He's attacking us."

dramatic music

And then on the tarmac
the next day

in front of Air Force One,

somebody in the White House
press pool asks him about us.

Do you wanna make any comment

about this Lincoln Project ad?

Yeah, no, I saw it.

They should call it
The Losers Project.

Okay, thanks.

That was the beginning
of history for us.

The president
not happy with a new ad

from a group of conservatives

who haven't been shy
in going after him.

The Lincoln Project
released this ad.

They call it
Mourning in America.

An organization known
as The Lincoln Project

put out, like, the harshest ad.

The Lincoln Project

is like watching

a Jay-Z/Nas rap battle.

I don't give money
to political organizations.

I've given money
to Lincoln Project

because of ads like this.

You know, we had raised,
I think, about $2 million

up until the moment
he attacked us.

And we raised $2 million

in the immediate 24 hours afterward.

It's not fair
to Abraham Lincoln,

a great president.

Does he just not comprehend
that he got

so much more attention
to your commercial

by his public reactions today?

You know,
we expected this ad to hit.

We did not expect him
to behave

in the completely maniacal way
he behaved all day today,

but here we are.

None of this
is that complicated.

Like, we never poll tested
Mourning in America,

and it got his attention.

It's all psychology
at some point, right?

Hey, Mary. It's Ron.
How are you?

Hi, Ron. I'm okay.
How are you doing?

I'm okay.
I'm hanging in there.

My team is working
on a billboard design

for--it's sort of
a huge wraparound billboard

with a couple of

sort of extra units
at 49th and Broadway.

- Yup.
- You know, this falls

into the psyops category
of our different lanes,

and I would love to brainstorm
some ideas with you

and see what you think
would be most effective.

What do you think about the--
like, a task--

the COVID task force piece?

I guess it depends
on what--you know...

When the pandemic first hit,

my sister was finishing up

her last year of med school
in New York.

This is when the PPE shortages
were hitting.

That was the first moment
it became real for me,

because my sister,
who was seven months pregnant,

was going to work.

New York among the 22 states

reporting an uptick in...

The hospitals didn't have
enough protective gear

for the students,
the doctors, the nurses

who were putting their lives
on the line

to care for people
who were sick,

and that was because
of Donald Trump

and Jared Kushner.

You know, and...

Yes.

Oh, now I think
we're onto something.

Yeah.

While we were still thinking
about what creative direction

to go for these billboards,
I decided,

basically we should just try
to fuck with them

and get in their head, right?

To do something similar
to Mourning in America

in order to turn out donations
from all around the country.

It was like crowdfunding
for all

the other political campaigns
that we were playing in.

- Hopefully.
- Yeah.

So we've got the space
at 49th and Broadway.

It's, like,
a wraparound billboard.

It's a block from Fox.

Exactly, so we're brainstorming

how to troll Jared and Ivanka.

- Here's what it is.
- Yeah.

I don't care what it says.

You guys come up
with the worst ideas.

- The social climber aspect--
- Right.

You'll never eat lunch
in this town again.

I don't know, I think
Rick's dead-on about this.

What do you think about
the COVID task force piece?

Maybe that's one angle.

Great idea.

On March 21st, there was
a meeting in the White House

concerning the COVID plans
across the country.

And Jared decided to ax the
blue states from COVID testing.

The notion
of the federal stockpile was,

it's supposed to be
our stockpile.

It's not supposed to be
state stockpiles

that they then use.

So we're encouraging the states
to make sure

that they're
assessing the needs.

They're getting the data
from their...

He essentially said, "Well,

they didn't get on the phone
and ask us properly.

They weren't nice to us."

In shorthand,
"Fuck the blue states."

Why don't we tell 'em,
"You're not welcome here"?

I know that
that makes you feel good,

but it's not achieving
the objective.

I just think it's just a play
to get press, isn't it?

Mm-hmm.

It will achieve press,
but, like, we want

- their friends to call them.
- Mm-hmm.

Why doesn't somebody
just come up with some ideas

and put them
on a piece of paper?

Yeah, okay.

If only Ivanka had married
a nice Jewish doctor,

tens of thousands of Americans
would still be alive.

- Ooh!
- Whoa.

Whoa.

Well, that'll certainly
get attention.

That will certainly
get attention.

Lisa says, "No, you can't."

Yeah, something clearly
not okay with it.

At this stage
in the game,

going after his family,
going after Ivanka and Jared,

that's just not my wheelhouse.

I personally want to be focused
on persuading people.

But it's
in New York City, right?

We're not trying
to persuade New Yorkers.

But there's so many people
in this organization

with so many combined decades'
worth of political work

that sometimes
you do have to sort of be like,

"Okay, you've done this before,
so I trust you."

Getting Trump's attention
gets us more attention,

which gets us more firepower,

which means
we can reach more voters.

It's a very clear life cycle,
and it works very well.

And The Lincoln Project

is very quickly becoming
a bigger thing.

This is the
stretching pains of expanding

and doing more and doing more

and trying to figure out
a way...

We now have
50 full-time staffers,

35 interns,

and eight founders
and growing.

We're still adding staff
and interns.

So my prediction is, we'll be
at 100 before the election.

John Weaver,
I talk to him daily.

I keep saying,
"Stop with the interns."

Today we went from 39 to 45.

And we're gonna bring more.

I'm like, "We don't need
any more interns."

We do, though.
We do. We do.

We do.

This is, like,
a really important thing...

The thing
just keeps growing...

Actually turn those ideas
into action.

[Sarah
...faster and faster,

and now we'll be setting up
a studio for LPTV.

But also, I think that's cool
for the day show,

but then it's reflective,

so we'd have
to put something on it.

Hold on.

I mean, there's
the windows up there...

I'm a producer on LPTV.

...think that's a big deal,

but we could dress
this whole area here.

We'll just measure out.

We'd realize, like,

"Okay, we can actually
put a studio together,

and then we can
get through the last,

like, six weeks
of the election in person."

Yeah.
It's, like, perfect.

That's gonna make an impact.

That's gonna be great content.

Like, we want to do that.

So... six days.

Actually, it's more
like five days.

We've fabricated,

upholstered, lit,

gotten all the cameras in,

gotten a dog in,

and made a real set.

How we doing?

We started to recognize

that we had to be out there

with competing content
in the cultural space

beyond just what
a super PAC can do.

You sit right there.

There are millions
and millions

and millions of Americans

who live in a hermetically
sealed bubble,

and that bubble is fed
by the twin sewage pipes

of Fox and Facebook.

Can you believe this?

No.

I'm having trouble
believing it.

Here is what we are
going to do right now.

We are gonna start
from the top of the show,

where, Tara, we will come
to you in a single.

You will introduce the show

and a single to a two-shot
bringing Rick in.

Everything is good to go.

Got it.

Five, four, three, two, one.

Good evening,
and welcome to The Breakdown.

I am Tara Setmayer,

and we are broadcasting live
from--

for the first time
from our fancy new studio

in an undisclosed location.

There he is, the Rick Wilson.

Hey, Tara, how are you?

Fancy new digs there.

You look at these
pictures from the rallies,

and these people
are largely maskless.

We are gonna be able to model
the COVID outbreaks

following this guy around.

And now the White House
is moving forward

with this medically dangerous
herd immunity.

Like measles and other things,

you're supposed to become
immune to this

once you get it.

This doesn't work, number one,
without a vaccine,

which we don't have yet.

If you wanna pursue
the herd immunity equation,

on the lower boundary of it,
you lose 2.5 million people.

If the idea is that
you're going to end up

giving people herd immunity

by killing 2 1/2 million
to 5 1/2 million Americans,

you're not a president.

You're a psychopath.

pensive music

She's generously shared
the right AirPod with me.

Keep the middle open
for open communication.

100%.

Teamwork to make the dream work.

So this is a series
that we're looking at doing,

a billboard program
in multiple states.

It's interesting that in 2020,

we're putting up billboards
as a way to campaign.

Yeah, that looks really good.

This is roughly--this is,
like, a very early draft,

but this is roughly
where we're going.

I like where this
is going, Ron, a lot.

Very good, Ron.
It's really, really great.

It needs to be more
of that, like,

deathly power he has.

This is almost, like,
too human.

Yeah, I agree, Stuart.

Okay.

Yes.

So you want her like I had

in the original mock-up,
right?

- Like, where she's, like--
- No.

For that top piece,
just put the death toll.

Yeah, I think this
is--I think this is the one.

Yup. That's it.

So for everybody's benefit,
we found a better location,

which is actually
a block north,

right in the bow tie
of Times Square

on the building that
Good Morning America tapes in.

And we are moving money
and creative today.

I think we have to be careful,

especially in the last weeks.

Like, this is everything
that we're talking about.

My biggest concern is that
I feel like our priority--

all of the stuff that we're
talking about is good.

I get it. I know
where you're coming from.

But our job is to persuade
people to vote for Biden.

Insulting people
doesn't do that.

We're here to persuade people
to vote for Joe Biden.

I just wanna make sure
that we don't forget

that that's our priority.

Sorry to bring the crowd down.

- It sounds like a great ad.
- No, no, no.

That was the first thing--

Sounds like a fun ad, but--

When I saw it,
that was what my concern was.

Yeah, yeah,
I do worry about that.

We always walk
close to that line,

and we're always disciplined
about stepping back from it.

I just wanna make sure that we

- continue to be--
- We should show restraint.

Yes.

Sometimes less is more.

Some of our ads, I know,

can be tough to watch

every now and then.

Where are we in releasing?

What have we released so far?

Arizona, morning
in Arizona this weekend.

We'll drop Florida tomorrow.

We'll do D.C. Thursday.

This is Reed's and Steve's

and John's
and Brooke's project.

I think we should
go play all of our Senate ads

on the base of the senatorial
committee building...

...in the last week, right?

Like, I think, like,
we should fucking do that.

I love it.
I love it.

They're a very enthusiastic

and creative group of guys.

I'm a somewhat conservative

New England grandmother,
you know?

- Thank you.
- Thanks, Jennifer.

Good to see you.

They reached out to me

and invited me in,

and I'm very happy
to be part of it.

I will see you all again

before the day's over,
I'm sure.

All right.
Are we good?

He owes me.

Jennifer, what a long,
strange trip it has been.

- We go way back.
- Jennifer...

Where the hell are we now?

...we go way back.

I mean, Jennifer was
a Republican's Republican

before her conversion,

the bright light
that came from Donald Trump.

Yeah, before Trump.

Yeah.

I was chairman of
New Hampshire Republican Party

when Donald Trump
was nominated.

- Thank you, darling.
- Good luck.

And I remember
my friends would say to me,

"You guys in New Hampshire,
you're gonna stop it.

He's not gonna win
New Hampshire really, is he?"

- You feel good about it?
- Yeah.

Oh, wow.

Wow, wow, wow.

So beautiful.

It was awful.

So beautiful.

And I have spent
every minute since then

feeling some level
of personal responsibility

of making sure that we don't
let this happen again.

Okay.

Is this where I belong?

- All right.
- Yeah.

Jennifer!

- Hey, how are you?
- I'm good.

- Here she is.
- So how's it going?

This is me
hugging you, 'cause I can't,

-'cause COVID.
- I know. I know.

I know.

Jennifer Horn is a Republican.

She's also, like, the
quintessential American mom.

She's able to reach
all these women

who wanna hear
from someone like her.

Jennifer, are you ready?

I'm ready.

- Let's do it.
- Three, two, one.

So much going on right now.

It sounds like we've got
a lot of people waiting.

Our next caller is Janet.

I'm one of those
white suburban women

that is not voting for Trump.

He's ripping our country apart
in such a manner

that hasn't happened
since the Civil War.

So how do we talk to each
other in a way that is not

gonna be defensive
or volatile?

I have had
many conversations with people

who have called in
to our show,

written in, tweeted,
who have said,

"I was undecided,"

or, "I was going to vote
for Trump,

and a conversation that
Jennifer had about empathy

spoke to my heart and told me

that I am now going to vote
for Biden."

Like, that's the fucking goal.

With the vendor and--

Hi.

Hi.

- It's a bit stressful.
- What happened?

So the fun thing
about billboards is,

they're different than TV.

That means there are
strict guidelines

that different companies have.

And in this case, saying,
"Trump lied.

200,000 people died,"
is apparently an opinion

and not a fact.

So we can't use that.

We just have to adapt to that,

because now billboard spaces
are filling up quickly.

Okay, I'll be over there now.

Can't use that.

Can't use that.

Can't use this
or the photo behind it.

This is for what, Arizona,

where we have a problem?

Florida, Arizona,
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin.

Great.

- Nothing important.
- Mm-mm.

They don't have any value
in the Electoral College.

I have a feeling

that whatever we do
with these quotes

is gonna get shot down
at this point.

I would bet that,

but we need to play their game
for now, unfortunately.

So we pretty much
need to do this today,

because we're set back
another 48 to 72 hours,

and ballots are gonna
start dropping in states

if they haven't already.

So we're between, like,
a boulder and a cliff

and, like, a hard place
and, like, a shark.

Like a pterodactyl
but the one from, like,

Jurassic Park III.

I literally woke up to, like,

five people saying, like,

"New Yorker article looks--
it's great."

I was like, "What?"

- I was like, "It's out?"
- Yeah.

You were one of them.

That was the first thing
I read this morning.

Me too. Like this.

Yeah.

This is, like,
Steve Schmidt's,

Rick Wilson's, Reed Galen's,
John Weaver's baby.

I mean, like, as, like,

a young gay kid
in New York City,

to be in The New Yorker

is just--

Just, like, makes me
really emotional.

- I don't know.
- No.

Yeah, it's like,
it's just a--

I don't know.

That New Yorker reporter

didn't even talk to us,

anybody on our team,
as far as I know.

It's all good. [chuckles]

Like, I read the article,
or I skimmed it a little bit.

I learned who brought dogs.

I learned what kind
of breed they were.

That was cool.

But the work that Mike's done
and Zach's done

means more to me personally...

Yeah.

...than a fucking article.

Mike has literally put
his entire career at risk.

Mike is, like, the entire
targeting operation

of Lincoln Project and--yeah.

I thought
we were just a Twitter account

when I first learned
about The Lincoln Project.

Like, I saw
some pretty spicy tweets.

I'm gonna do this. Watch.

The power you wield is--

Insane.
It's actually insane.

- It's too much.
- It's insane.

You know, like, the shit
we're all doing is pretty hard.

No, I think everyone
has a hand in it.

- Yeah.
- And I think--I think it's--

- Like, I feel--
- It's like, it's not

anyone's place to, like,
take credit.

No, no, no,
I'm not saying, like--

- Like, we all do--
- I didn't think it was bad.

I just wish other people
had been highlighted.

That's all.

Is there something
about the article

that created tension?

No, I think it was--it's good.

I don't think anyone
has tension about it,

that I'm aware of, at least.

I don't know.

It's gonna be a good day.
Gonna be a great day.

Sarah wants to know
if we're coming into the--

she emailed the whole team

to see who's coming
to the office today.

- Should I say we're--
- We're not going.

- Okay.
- Yo.

Yeah, guys,
I wanna have a quick chat

with everybody.

Did everybody read
the New Yorker piece today?

Started to.

It bites me
to no fucking end

that The New Yorker
can write a fucking story

called "The War Room
of The Lincoln Project"

without talking to the people
that run the fucking war room.

There is a narrative
about The Lincoln Project

being just
an internet sensation

and a great tweet machine
and really cool ads

when we all know that that is
not all of who we are,

that if this race is won,
it's gonna be

because of the work that
the people in this room did...

obviously not exclusively but...

substantially.

I'll be honest, guys.

Like, I don't really care.

No. Well, here's the thing.

This is important.

And let me teach you a lesson,

'cause you're really young
in this business.

If you don't tell your story,
somebody else is gonna.

Yeah. Okay.

Yeah.

We would be kidding ourselves

if we said
that the angling hasn't begun.

And I think the best thing
that we can do,

you know, let's be honest
about the angling.

It's the thing that happens
on campaigns.

It's like,
it's not a nice thing,

but it's a thing that happens.

The best kind of angling
is continuing to deliver.

dramatic music

We're not making the ads.

We're not the ones
who were on cable news.

That's what made
The Lincoln Project

as influential as it is.

But that alone
is not sufficient

to actually move
the voters to accomplish

the mission
that we are talking about.

That requires data work
and targeting

and understanding the voters

at a very small,
granular level.

And it's what we do.

We take pride in that.

That needs to be respected.

And...

...you know, it's just--

I don't think that my guys
are feeling that right now.

I know I'm not.

This is a Fox News alert.

I'm Ashley Strohmier,
live from New York.

President Trump
just tweeted moments ago

that he and the first lady
have tested positive

for the coronavirus.

The president and first lady
now isolating

here at the White House
in the residence behind me,

with all public events canceled.

The president
formally introduced

his Supreme Court nominee,
Amy Coney Barrett,

just days earlier
during a September 26th

Rose Garden ceremony.

Several of the attending
audience members

since also tested positive
for the virus.

This is more
than an October surprise.

It's like an October
asteroid hit.

Hey, gang.

- Hey.
- Hey.

Well, we have to start
breaking our news cycles down

into milliseconds, I guess.

Trump's got COVID,
and that organization,

I'm betting right now,
is in chaos.

Let me give you more
insight in the White House.

Our little friend over there
is sending me stuff right now.

She's on the Zoom call,
and she said,

"No one knows who's in charge
right now of anything."

She said,
"Major push

to ensure that we call out
liberal media

for snickering
at Trump and first lady.

Highlight anything
that looks insensitive

to the first family
as they're going

through this terrible crisis."

Oh, my fucking God.

This is the best one
I've seen.

Trump beat Biden

while suffering from COVID

in debate.

- Jesus Christ.
- You know what?

Like, the beauty--
here's the thing

is that the beauty
of living in a fictional world

means you can make up whatever
goddamn thing you want to.

I don't wanna be cruel,

but this is why

the word "karma" was invented.

I hope he recovers.

But, like, does any--
do we have sympathy for him?

But my point is, like,
whatever the thing is,

like, we shouldn't have
any mercy on these people.

Well, here we go.

Donald Trump is now in the
circle of people around him,

because they were sloppy
and irresponsible and reckless

and didn't wear masks
and didn't wear gloves

and didn't wash their hands
and didn't socially distance

and all the other
practical things

that every other American
should be doing.

Now he has COVID.

You know, anybody that's
looking for sympathy from me,

they can find that shit
in the dictionary

between "shit" and "syphilis,"

'cause I am not playing
this fucking game.

He brought this
on himself, okay?

He bought this problem
for himself.

The virus doesn't watch
Fox News.

The virus isn't following
Trump's Twitter feed.

The virus is an externality
that cannot--

you know,
in Terminator style,

cannot be reasoned with.

You can't bullshit the virus.

You can't pretend
with the virus.

The virus doesn't watch
reality TV

and think that you're
something you're not.

It just is what it is
and does what it does.

So here we are.
He's got COVID.

And it has disrupted
his campaign schedule...

...but not ours.

We're gonna continue--
sorry, guys.

It's okay.

So that was true, then?

Yup.

Somebody called us
at 2 p.m. and told us

that he was going
to Walter Reed.

Wow.

As a precaution or...

Wait.

Wow.

- Something's not right.
- Something's not right.

There's just
so many unknowns.

Variables.

There's so many variables,

and there's so much
potential for--

Fucker-y.

I hate second-guessing,
like, myself and say...

- I know.
- ..."Is he lying?"

I know.

"Is this, like,
a bigger play?"

Like, I had the same reaction.

- I think everybody is.
- Yeah.

I think the whole country is.

Hello, hello, and welcome

to The Breakdown's
pre-debate show.

What a great way
for the current vice president

in the United States
to roll into his one and only

vice presidential debate.

Who knew that we would get
the biggest

of all October surprises?

It's not a good look for them.

Vice President Pence,
you were in the front row

in a Rose Garden event
11 days ago

in what seems to have been
a super-spreader event

for senior administration
and congressional officials.

No social distancing,
few masks,

and now a cluster
of coronavirus cases

among those who were there.

How can you expect Americans
to follow the administration's

safety guidelines to protect
themselves from COVID

when you at the White House
have not been doing so?

Well, the American people

have demonstrated
over the last eight months--

We'll see what she does,
if she follows up and says,

"That's not what I asked you."

President Trump and I
have great confidence

in the American people
and their ability

to take that information
and put it into practice.

The vice president
is the head of the task force.

Clearly it hasn't worked

when you're looking
at over 210,000

dead bodies in our country.

Thank you, Senator Harris.

This is such
an important issue,

but we have other
important issues as well...

She crushed that answer.

Slanders against
President Donald Trump

regarding men and women
of our armed forces

are absurd.

President Donald Trump
reveres those

who serve
in our armed forces...

Bullshit!

That's fucking insane.

Well, let's go--

No, but, Susan,
this is important.

Susan, I have
to weigh in here.

Mr. Vice President,
I'm speaking.

- I have to weigh in.
- I'm speaking.

- Oh!
- Here we go.

- Yeah.
- Eat shit, motherfucker. Whoo!

To the men and women
who serve in law enforcement,

I want everyone to know,
who puts on the uniform...

He's got a fly on his head.

Look up at the fly on his head.

There's a fly on his head.

- Tweet that shit.
- Yeah.

Well, that's rapid response.

- Da-da-da
- Vote.

Please vote. Vote early.

Come up with a plan to vote.

Go to iwillvote.com.

Thank you, Senator Harris.

Thank you,
Vice President Pence.

Thank you so much
for being with us tonight.

Four more years!

God bless our president!

I will die for him.

I will die
for that man happily.

Anybody wanna mess with him,
you mess with me first.

He is the hero, that man.

On Wednesday,

Trump went on Twitter

to say that catching
the coronavirus was...

a blessing from God.

Let's take a listen.

Hi, perhaps you recognize me.

It's your favorite president.

I got back a day ago

from Walter Reed
Medical Center.

I spent four days there.

I want everybody to be given
the same treatment

as your president,

because I feel great.

I think this was a blessing
from God that I caught it.

This was a blessing
in disguise.

- And--
- Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

I'm speechless.

Look, I guess it's kind of
a weird play to evangelicals,

I guess.

I mean, what's he saying?

What does that even mean?

That kind of language,
I don't--

while it is jarring
to hear, I think,

I don't think it is
that jarring to his base.

Yeah.

I don't think
it's jarring.

We know that he sees

a powerful political base
that he can manipulate

when he uses
religious rhetoric.

I would know.

- Tell them why.
- My parents are pastors.

I grew up
in an evangelical household.

I was homeschooled
until I was in fourth grade.

Then I went
to Christian school.

I pledge allegiance to...

In the Christian school,
we started every day

pledging allegiance
to the flag

of the United States,

then pledging allegiance
to the Christian flag...

One savior, crucified...

...then pledging
allegiance to the Bible.

God's holy word.

Three, right in a row.

Those things then become
interwoven in your mind.

Being a Christian
means being an American.

Being an American
means being a Christian.

And if you aren't one,
then you aren't the other.

Piss off God, then something
bad might happen to America.

Those who wanna change
the culture know

that it's fairly simple to do.

You simply get control
of what you teach children.

Focus on the Family
was a big influence,

and Dr. James Dobson
was the go-to teacher

for how to raise kids,

and my parents
really looked up to him.

Can you imagine
20, 25 five-year-olds

with their little hands
folded in their laps

while their teacher
talks to them

about adult perverse sexuality?

Have we gone completely mad?

That culture was...

...acidic

to a young boy
who was figuring out

that he was gay

and didn't even know
what that really meant.

But as I got older,
I could sort of

compartmentalize who I was

with the work of electing
Republican candidates.

And at that point,
I still

generally believed
and preferred

most of the classically
conservative ideas

about free markets and,
you know, smaller government.

As a professional consultant,

you can rationalize working
with and for candidates

and on projects that you
agree with in most part,

even though you find some
of those things objectionable.

But then Donald Trump
was a complete surprise.

When he became the nominee,

I realized
that the Republican Party

was not what I thought
it was...

...that winning was actually
all that mattered.

And fuck that.
I'm not doing it.

Thank you, Mike and Sarah,
for being on the show today.

And thanks to all of you
at home for listening.

I decided I was gonna see
if there was

meaningful work outside
of this two-party structure

that I could do
and feel...

happy about.

Same with you, Mike.

- Okay.
- You can just--

And it turns out

that there are good people

doing meaningful work
in that space,

and I found some of them.

light music

Oh, man.

They are gonna freak out.

- Hello.
- Hey.

So it is up.

I'm gonna turn this around,
okay?

Okay.

There it is.

Oh, my God.

Wow.

Good morning, America.

Good morning, Jared.

Good morning, Ivanka.

I don't know
how much this cost,

but it was worth every penny.

- Yeah.
- You know?

Yeah, it was--

we got a very good deal.

Good. Good. I'm glad.

A pair of billboards

in New York City's
Times Square

are attracting
far more interest

than the normal advertisements.

They were paid for
by a high-profile group

of Republicans opposed to the
reelection of president Trump.

Look up from
New York City's Times Square,

and you'll see
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump

Trump smiling down at you.

But the couple
isn't happy about that.

The billboards featuring them
are the work

of The Lincoln Project.

The billboards went up
just days before Election Day.

"Dear Lincoln Project persons,

we represent Mr. Jared Kushner
and Ms. Ivanka Trump."

"I'm writing concerning
the false malicious

and defamatory ads
that The Lincoln Project

is displaying on billboards
in Times Square.

Those ads show Ms. Trump
smiling and gesturing

toward a death count
of Americans and New Yorkers

and attribute to Mr. Kushner
the statement that

'New Yorkers
are going to suffer

and that's their problem.'"

"Of course, Mr. Kushner
never made any such statement."

He did.

"Ms. Trump never made
any such gesture."

She did.

"And The Lincoln Project's
representation that they did

is an outrageous
and shameful libel.

If these billboard ads
are not immediately removed,

we will sue you
for what will doubtless be

enormous compensatory
and punitive damages."

Basically, like, "Take
the billboard down immediately,

or we're going to sue you."

I'm telling you
right now, right,

that letter that they sent
to us is going out.

- We're not taking it down.
- Yeah.

And we will attack
the shit out of them.

- Yeah,
- 100%.

Yeah.

I've never been sued
by a Trump before.

I know, man. I have--

Congratulations?

This is gonna be fun.

So what is it--
what's your sense of it?

- They're suing us personally.
- What's that?

They're suing us personally.

Yeah, they're
personally suing us for libel.

- Okay.
- Yeah.

My sense is,
this is perfectly protected,

First Amendment free speech,

and it's gonna be a big fight.

And we'll probably raise
a lot of money on it,

and I think it'll
get people fired up.

Who the fuck
do they think we are?

It's offensive.

It's offensive that they think
we'd be intimidated by it.

Political speech
is the highest form

of protected communication
under the Constitution.

They are who we said they are.

We put up a billboard
in Times Square

which we knew would have
the exact effect

we wanted it to have.

And they had their lawyer
send us some shitty letter,

which we're like,
"Thank you. Thank you."

That's great.
That's great.

Hello.

- Philip?
- Yes.

Hey, it's Maria
with OUTFRONT Media.

- How are you?
- I'm doing well.

How about yourself?

And just to let you know,
you're on speaker

with Conor Rogers,
who's our digital director.

Hey, Maria.

I'm just confirming again that
there's no potential issues

with political content.

If you have
something that you can send me

so I can take a look at
real quick--

Yeah, we have six examples
we can show you.

In your inbox should be
all of our proposed creative.

- Okay.
- Yeah.

Take a look at that.

Let me just tap in here.

"Trump lied.
200,000-plus died."

- Okay. Got it.
- Yeah.

Just based on what you're
seeing, how's it look?

I don't think
we're gonna have

a problem with this.

I mean, it's politics.

I guess, that's--I don't see
a problem with it.

It is what it is.
I'm, like--

Thank you very much,
'cause we've had

some fun conversations
with other vendors this week.

I will send this
to my legal department

just to make sure that,
you know,

they're okay with it.

- Okay.
- Okay.

And if there's
any problem with any of them,

- I'll let you guys know.
- Okay, sounds fantastic.

- Thank you so much.
- Okay. Thanks.

Uh-huh, bye-bye.

Let's go. Mm-hmm.

I got the letter,
the legal letter,

that we're gonna send back.

Here, guys, this will be
perfectly dramatic for you.

"Dear Mr. Kasowitz, I write to
respond to your recent letter

in which you threaten to sue
my client, The Lincoln Project,

for openly criticizing
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

Please peddle
your scare tactics elsewhere."

Nice.

"The Lincoln Project
will not be intimidated

by such empty bluster.

Your clients are no longer mere
Upper East Side socialites..."

"...able to sue
at the slightest offense

to their personal sensitivities.

Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump
are public officials.

They have been public officials
since President Trump,

in a gross act of nepotism,

awarded Mr. Kushner
and Ms. Trump

senior White House positions
in 2017."

"Fortunately, substantial
constitutional protections

are afforded to those who speak
out about public officials.

Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump
will hear more

from The Lincoln Project soon."

- Okay, I emailed this to you.
- Okay.

I forwarded this.
So let's just blast it.

- Okay. Yeah.
- You know what?

- Let's just pump it out.
- Gonna send it now.

We've raised,
at last check this morning,

approximately $1.5 million
in relation to the--

Billboards.

The Times Square billboards.

So if anybody wants to send
an edible arrangement

to Jared and Ivanka,
please do.

I just had them rotate in

a piece of fundraising
creative for the billboards.

Okay, let's see.

It's currently turning
a 6.4x ROI

on immediate conversion.

It's insane.

For every dollar we spend,
$6.40, yeah,

which means you push
the gas pedal down,

'cause that's gonna
mint money for...

probably the next four
to five days, I would imagine.

Despite the incredible press

we've gotten on billboards,

the feedback
we are still hearing is,

"Why are we spending money
in New York City

- when that's on"--
- Yeah.

"Why are we not
spending the money elsewhere?"

Because for a $100,000 investment,

we've raised $1.5 million

to put into places
like Georgia

and South Carolina
and Florida.

In the final stretch
of the election,

this is what they're
gonna be focused on.

Not Joe Biden,
not trying to win,

attacking The Lincoln Project.

And we're in the process

of getting lots more space

in lots of other places
to put these billboards up

all over the country.

Trump is the child
of privilege.

Mm-hmm.

Ivanka is a child
of privilege...

- Mm-hmm.
- ...and no consequence.

Jared is a child of privilege
and no consequence.

These people have
consistently had the world

laid out at their feet.

They're the kind of people
who see a billboard

that tells the truth
about them...

- Yeah.
- And freak out.

...and freak out
and send us

a cease-and-desist letter.

- Yeah.
- So...

And we should note
that our response,

not just in writing
via our attorney

but in practice
is going to be to put more

- of these billboards up.
- Right.

And as of today,
when this episode is released,

we will have
the same artwork

circling around Mar-a-Lago
on a giant boat

designed to be
a digital billboard.

dramatic music

Hey, Siri,
call Steve Schmidt.

Calling Steve Schmidt mobile.

Hey, man.

We're gonna have
to have a talk about John.

He's lost his fucking mind.

'Cause he wants $10 million
for Texas.

I'm like,
"John, go fuck yourself.

Fran says we can't even raise
$1 million for Texas."

And he's like,
"You promised me

we would all get on calls
again."

And I was like, "John,
it's not working out that way.

That's not how it's gonna be."

And he's like, "I'll blow
this whole thing up tomorrow.

If you don't do Texas, I'll
suicide bomber you fuckers."

I'm like, "You're in no
position to blow anything up."

I mean, we gotta keep
the fucking guy--

we gotta keep the guy
under control for 19 more days.

And so I may need
you guys to back me up.

So, you know, we're gonna have
to cross that bridge.

stately music