Republican Accountability
Republican Voters Against Trump | |
 | |
| Founder | Defending Democracy Together |
|---|---|
| Website | Official website |
Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT) is a political initiative launched in May 2020 by Defending Democracy Together for the 2020 U.S. presidential election cycle.[1][2] The project was formed to produce a US$10 million advertising campaign focused on 100 testimonials by Republicans, conservatives, moderates, right-leaning independent voters, and former Trump voters explaining why they would not vote for Donald Trump in 2020.[1][2][3] By August 2020 they had collected 500 testimonials.[4] Conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin called the pieces "some of the best pro-Biden ads".[5]
The advertising campaign targets white college-educated suburban voters in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina and Arizona.[2] Paul Waldman, writing for The Washington Post compared the campaign to a similar 1964 Lyndon Johnson ad called "Confessions of a Republican" giving Republicans "permission" to vote against Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election.[6]
Ad space purchased on social media and Fox News was scheduled to start the first week of June 2020.[7] In August 2020 former senior official in the Trump administration Miles Taylor filmed a spot, calling Trump "dangerous" and saying "What we saw week in and week out, for me, after two and a half years in that administration, was terrifying. We would go in to try to talk to him about a pressing national security issue -- cyberattack, terrorism threat -- he wasn't interested in those things. To him, they weren't priorities."[8] An ad produced by RVAT featuring Trump's descriptions of the coronavirus pandemic was planned to air during the Republican National Convention in Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Florida and Pennsylvania.[9]
Organizers included Republican political strategist Sarah Longwell, conservative writer Bill Kristol, and former Jeb Bush aide Tim Miller.[2] The Philadelphia Inquirer said the group was "waging guerrilla warfare within the GOP."[10]
See also
References
- ^ a b Warren, Michael (May 28, 2020). "New GOP group launches $10 million campaign to get Republicans to vote for Biden over Trump". CNN. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d Karni, Annie (May 28, 2020). "Get Republicans to Vote Against Trump? This Group Will Spend $10 Million to Try". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
- ^ Roos, Meghan (May 28, 2020). "Anti-Trump Republican group launches $10 million project to get Biden elected". Newsweek. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Zengerle, Jason (August 5, 2020). "These Republicans Have a Confession: They're Not Voting for Trump Again". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
- ^ Rubin, Jennifer (17 August 2020). "Familiar Republicans join team Biden". Washington Post.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Waldman, Paul (May 28, 2020). "The Never Trumpers might finally be on to something". Washington Post. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Mazza, Ed (May 29, 2020). "Rank-And-File Republicans Turn On Trump In New Effort To Block His Reelection". Huffington Post. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
- ^ Diamond, Jeremy; Tapper, Jake; Warren, Michael (17 August 2020). "Former senior Trump administration official endorses Joe Biden". CNN. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Mazza, Ed (2020-08-14). "Republican Group Uses Trump's Words On Coronavirus Against Him In Scathing Ad". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Thomas. "An anti-Trump Republican group is courting 'soft' Trump supporters in Pa. with $1 million in ads". inquirer.com. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)