Donald Trump is famous for his social media outbursts. Before he was banned from Twitter, during his presidency, and in the years since on his personal social media site Truth Social, the man has made a name for himself for angry, hyperbolic content that delivers in its intent to rile up his supporters.
Social Media Rants For Days
Trump has proven that anything can result in a social media rant. Joe Biden, mainstream Republicans, Democrats, and anyone that upsets him in any way could be subject to his temper. A recent example is the Judge in New York City who recently ordered Trump to pay more than $350 million in a fraud case that he lost, and is now appealing.
Generally, political opponents have tried to ignore Trump in his ramblings on social media, which some have called “unhinged.” This includes other Republicans, such as his opponent for the Republican nomination for president, Nikki Haley.
Negative Ads Against Trump
As the 2024 election season has ramped up, though, political opponents including Joe Biden and his establishment supporters have increased the amount of negative ads that have been run about Trump. The man makes it easy for them, with most of his actions fodder for any sort of attack ad.
Most recently, an ad released by the Lincoln Project – a centrist PAC whose stated objective is keeping Trump out of the White House for a second term – blamed Trump for his role in killing the bipartisan border deal that had Biden’s support.
Blatant Wording in the Ad
The ad was not subtle in calling out Trump. “Donald Trump doesn’t care if your family’s safety or the lives of law enforcement officers are in the balance,” stated the voice over. “He’s on the side of the cartels, coyotes, and child traffickers.”
The ad highlighted the fact that Trump had a central role in killing the border bill. It was negotiated for months with several key Republicans in the Senate, and included major concessions to conservative demands on immigration.
Trump Interfering With the Border Bill
When some of the details came out about the bill, Trump was not quiet in calling for Republicans to vote “no” on the bill. Some Republicans slipped in private conversations that were leaked, blatantly saying that Trump asked them not to “solve the border crisis” during an election year.
More information was released during a hearing on the bill. One of the Republican cosponsors of the bill stated that he had received threats from prominent conservative pundits, telling him that they would make his life incredibly difficult if he supported the bill, a threat that he said they’d followed up on.
A Comparison
The bill even bluntly compared Biden and Trump. “Joe Biden is ready to protect America’s southern border. There’s only one problem. Donald Trump.” This is a blatant contrast from how conservatives have been painting Joe Biden for several years, a clearly intentional tactic.
The ad aired late on television this past week, and it didn’t take long for the target of the ad to hear about it. Donald Trump took to Truth Social after midnight on the East Coast, lashing out at what he called “the failed Lincoln Project.”
Trump’s Rant
“The perverts at the Failed Lincoln Project, who I was told were left leaning RINOS that had lost their way and almost all of their financial support, just did an ad showing a grassy, calm, and peaceful Southern Border, not an illegal Migrant in sight,” Trump ranted.
He finished, “…explaining what a great job Crooked Joe Biden did in dealing with what has become just one of many Biden inspired, Country threatening, problems facing the United States today.” Trump was clearly disturbed by the ad, and his supporters immediately jumped to his defense.
A Partially True Statement
Trump’s words were partly true. Early this month, videos went viral on X, formerly known as Twitter, showing participants in the “Take Back Our Border” convoy expressing confusion at the lack of chaos at the border.
Ford News wrote on X, “They expected to see lines of immigrants lined up wanting entry, and many trying to cross over outside the normal ports of entry. They say this isn’t happening at all.” He continued, “In fact, they aren’t seeing lines at all, no one crossing the border…Some aren’t even sure now why they are there.”
Other Lies From Trump
Trump’s rant included other assertions, including an inflated figure of how many illegal migrants are currently in America. Trump claimed it was 18,000,000, while the reality is that there are approximately 10.5 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, total. That number has decreased by almost 2 million since 2007.
Additionally, Biden’s Department of Homeland Security has removed a higher percentage of illegal migrants than Trump’s administration did. Migrants were also more likely to be released after arrest during Trump’s administration than they are Biden’s, drawing a clear contrast between priorities of the different administrations.
A Response From Rick Wilson
The co-founder of the Lincoln Project, Rick Wilson, responded to Trump’s rant with a video. In it, he called the former president a “weak, nihilistic weirdo.” The Lincoln Project hasn’t released a formal statement from the organization, but it’s likely that a comment is coming in the days ahead.
If there’s anything that the video and subsequent rant reveals about Trump, it’s that he cannot stand being called out for anything he does or does not do. His fortitude in the face of criticism is weak, as it always has been, and if he continues to react to attack ads in this way, the Lincoln Project and other organizations will likely have an easier time meeting their goal of preventing a Trump win in 2024.
