Anti-Trump Republican group attacks Trump on race in new ad

June 1, 2020

(CNN)The anti-Trump Republican group, The Lincoln Project, is planning to air a new attack ad blasting President Donald Trump's record on race relations in the US.

The TV spot, backed by a $500,000 ad buy, will air in the key battleground states of Florida, Wisconsin and Michigan as well as in Washington, DC. The ad, entitled "Flag of Treason," targets the support Trump has received from white nationalist groups.

One of the group's previous ads delivered a blistering critique of Trump's record on the coronavirus pandemic, playing off of Ronald Reagan's iconic 1984 "Morning in America" reelection spot. The "Mourning in America" ad went viral, giving The Lincoln Project an infusion of funds.

The Lincoln Project is led by a high-profile team of anti-Trump Republicans, including John Weaver, Rick Wilson, Reed Galen and George Conway, the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway. Former Mitt Romney strategist Stuart Stevens recently joined the group.

Their goal is for Trump to lose reelection -- last month the group ran an ad endorsing Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee -- but getting under Trump's skin is an added benefit for the group.

Each of the Lincoln Project principles aligned themselves with the "NeverTrump" movement in the 2016 election and have been outspoken critics of Trump and the Republican Party ever since.