Lincoln Project Co-Founder Warns Trump 'Will Surely Kill Again' As 'Leader of an Authoritarian' GOP
Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt on Friday warned that former President Donald Trump's words have "caused bloodshed" and he will "surely kill again" in a series of tweets ahead of the ex-president's speech to the North Carolina Republican Party.
In a lengthy 11-post Twitter thread, Schmidt slammed the media for continuing to underestimate Trump and the alleged threat he poses to American Democracy after the ex-president permanently shut down his "From the Desk of Donald J. Trump" blog.
"Today is the third day of profoundly stupid media coverage around the demise of the Trump blog," Schmidt wrote. "Some have posited that Trump's loss, social media bans, and inability to sustain a blog are evidence of his decline, irrelevance and diminishment."
He added: "These people are fools and their delusions are dangerous for the survival of American democracy. We are at an hour that requires people to wake up. Trump is powerful and he is a clear and PRESENT danger to our democratic society and national stability."
Trump has the ability to kill and destroy with the spoken word. His words; his lies, delusions and conspiracy theories have caused bloodshed. That is what happened on January 6th. His words will surely kill again. Trump is the leader of an authoritarian movement made up of
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) June 4, 2021
Schmidt resigned from the board of the Lincoln Project in February, after revelations surfaced that leaders of the anti-Trump GOP movement were aware of sexual harassment allegations against co-founder John Weaver months before publicly acknowledging them.
Schmidt, a veteran Republican strategist, has continued to publicly criticize Trump in recent months as the GOP grapples with an intra-party rift between the Trump wing and the establishment wing impatient to end his influence on the party.
"Trump has the ability to kill and destroy with the spoken word. His words; his lies, delusions and conspiracy theories have caused bloodshed," Schmidt wrote. "That is what happened on January 6th. His words will surely kill again."
"Trump is the leader of an authoritarian movement made up of an eclectic mix of extremists including Proud Boy fascists, Neo Nazis, white nationalists, religious fanatics and conspiracy theorists," he continued. "The Republican Party is the vessel of this movement and the membership of that party is overwhelmingly united around the cause of Trump."
Schmidt argued that Trump "is not just the front runner for the GOP nomination, he is the presumptive nominee."
"It requires an almost Trumpian level of historical ignorance to not recognize it as one of the gravest threats the country has ever faced," he said. "A Trump indictment will not kill off Trump or his movement, it will simply hasten his candidacy."
Biden's 2020 victory "has brought us some time but all the time in the world can't cure a wilful and delusional blindness to the great danger, resilience, ambition, and authoritarianism of Trump's movement," Schmidt concluded.
Trump is set to deliver a speech at the North Carolina GOP State Convention on Saturday afternoon. Rumors have been circulating that Trump is considering a 2024 presidential run.
Newsweek reached out to Trump representatives for comment. This story will be updated with any response.
