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A former US Navy SEAL says Donald Trump is a “coward” or “accomplice” for failing to act on allegations that Russia has been paying rewards to militants who kill US soldiers.
In a new attack announcement released by a Republican political group, Dr. Dan Barkhuff punishes the president for his response to reports that Russia has allegedly paid rewards to Taliban-linked militants for killing US troops.
“Months ago, Donald Trump learned that the Russians were paying rewards for US soldiers killed in Afghanistan. He decided to do nothing about it,” says Barkhuff in the Lincoln Project announcement.
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The New York Times reported earlier this week that US officials had briefed the president and senior White House staff on the claims. The White House has denied that the President has been informed.
“Any commander-in-chief with a backbone would be trampling on the lives of some Russians right now, diplomatically, financially or, if necessary, with the kind of asymmetric warfare they are using to send our children home in body bags” . “Said Mr. Barkhuff.
He then claims that Trump is a “coward” or “accessory” to his inaction.
“Mr. Trump, you are a coward who cannot confront a former KGB thug, or you are an accomplice. Who are you?” he said. “Donald Trump is not fit to be our commander in chief, and that is worse than useless.”
Barkhuff, who in addition to his military career calls himself a “pro-life combat veteran and gun owner,” has criticized Trump since at least 2018, when he founded a political action committee called Veterans for Responsible Leadership. Now an ER doctor, his job is focused on keeping veterans and the general public away from the president.
During a 2018 appearance on the podcast “The Mid Pod,” Barkhuff was asked what an “irresponsible” leader looked like. In response, he described Trump.
“Someone you can’t trust. The short answer would be someone who doesn’t take their responsibility seriously. There’s a saying in the military: ‘You can delegate authority, you cannot delegate responsibility.'” That’s true, “he said.” And I think the current Commander-in-Chief, for example, is quick to point the finger at other people when something goes wrong and regularly engages in demonstrably false falsehoods. ”
The announcement is the latest in a barrage of video ads released by the Lincoln Project, an apparently conservative PAC that is publicly dedicated to undermining Trump in the 2020 U.S. election.
Among the group’s leaders are former Republican strategist Rick Wilson, former John McCain political consultant and campaign member John Weaver, Republican communications agent Steve Schmidt and attorney George Conway, husband of infamous Trump assistant Kellyanne Conway. .
The group backed likely Democratic candidate Joe Biden for president in a Washington Post Opinion article published in April. The authors argued that Trump’s pandemic response and the resulting economic consequences were reason enough to remove him from office.
The Lincoln Project has released eight video ads since mid-March. The ads tend to focus on Trump’s alleged weaknesses both as a leader and as a moral actor.
Last month, the group released the “#TrumpisNotWell” ad, which said the president was “shaky, weak” and had “trouble speaking, trouble walking.” The images of the president drinking water with both hands were shown over the voiceover. While the ad was called empowered to represent people with physical disabilities as unfit leaders, liberals and Republicans critical of the president shared it widely on social media.
Trump has called the group “RINO losers” – RINO is short for “Republicans in name only” – for failing to support him despite his perceived political victories.
So far, the Lincoln Project has spent $ 2.75 million on television ads and $ 1.2 million on Facebook ads.
The Club for Growth Action, a conservative Super PAC designed to curb government regulations and keep taxes low to maximize profits for corporations, called the Lincoln Project a “Democratic front group.”
“The Lincoln Project has nothing to do with the principles, and everything to do with covering the pockets of failed consultants attacking conservatives,” said Dave McIntosh, the leader of the Super PAC. “While the group is a favorite of the liberal media, the fact is that it is a Democratic front group and one of the least efficient ways for anti-Trumpers to spend their political dollars.”
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