All language subtitles for (2022) The Lincoln Project. Icarus

The last time
the Senate convened,

we had just reclaimed the
Capitol from violent criminals

who tried to stop Congress
from doing our duty.

The mob was fed lies.

They were provoked
by the president

and other powerful people.

And they tried to
use fear and violence

to stop a specific proceeding

of the first branch
of the federal government,

which they did not like.

But we pressed on.

We stood together
and said an angry mob

would not get veto power over
the rule of law in our nation,

not even for one night.

We certified
the people's choice

for their 46th president.

Tomorrow,
President-elect Biden

and Vice President-elect
Harris will be sworn in.

We'll have a safe
and successful inaugural

right here on the
West Front of the Capitol,

the space that
President Bush 41 called

"democracy's front porch."

There's a nervousness,
I think, right now,

between the events
of January 6th,

some internal things
that are going on

with The Lincoln Project,

and just life in general
right now.

Reed asked me to
start making calls

and let go of
the entire political team.

Several of them did ask me,
"Is this because of Mike?"

and I was told not to answer
that this was because of Mike.

And I tried to talk around it.

I probably didn't do it well.

- How are you, gang?
- We're great.

We should have movers soon.

I think we want
to try and do some, you know,

maybe do a podcast
thing over here--

- Yeah.
- And a LPTV thing and...

It was always the plan
that we were going to

downsize significantly
after the election.

But it wasn't that we were
going to fire all political.

It was like political
was going to be smaller,

creative would grow,

there'd be a pro-democracy
arm.

Like Reed would always say,
"Campaigns end."

You go, you get other jobs.

Like... that's...

you know, it was never
supposed to be this

self-sustaining organization
that was making millions

and millions and millions
and millions of dollars.

It probably could have been.

I don't know.
I don't know.

quiet music plays

This wasn't working out
for us,

bringing up these fricking...

Whew, it's hot.

Do you want to see
the rest of your home?

Lucas and I were a little
bit concerned moving out here

because it was like, okay,

what happens if we move out
here and we're not kept on?

And we were like, oh,
come on, that's crazy talk.

But when we both got
the phone calls,

we, like, called each other,
we were like, "Fuck."

Hey, buddy, how are you?

Struggling at the moment,
but I did get a cappuccino.

So I'm--

- Oh, halfway there.
- Doing okay.

You know, all good things
come to an end, buddy.

And they're not-they're not
an end, they're--

in many ways,
it's a new beginning.

- And, uh...
- Yeah.

Seeing you guys
and how hopeful you were

and how passionate
you were reminded me of...

of when I was in my early
20s and out of college

and doing campaign work,

because you're fighting
to make the country better

and fighting for a worldview
that's inclusive.

It was really my honor.

And I want to
thank you for that.

If this was in person,
I might have, like, teared up,

but because it's not,
I'm, like, keeping it together.

But I appreciate it.

Love you, man.

Thanks, man, love you too.

President Trump
will not attend

Joe Biden's inauguration
as presidents have done

to acknowledge a peaceful
transfer of power.

There are plenty
in Washington

who'd rather Trump not make it
to inauguration day at all.

House Democrats introduced

one article of impeachment
on Monday,

charging U.S. President
Donald Trump

with incitement
of insurrection

in their second push
to remove him from office.

We just got 75 million votes,

and that's a record in the
history of sitting presidents.

A goodbye, we love you,

we will be back
in some form.

So have a good life.
We will see you...

"Have a good life."

"Have a good life."

Who fucking says that?

"Have a good life."

I mean, come on.

Amazing

Grace

How sweet

The sound

That saved

A wretch

Like me

I once was lost

But now I'm found

Was blind

But now I see

Our history has been
a constant struggle

between the American ideal
that we're all created equal

and the harsh,
ugly reality that racism,

nativism, fear, demonization

have long torn us apart.

Through Civil War,
the Great Depression,

World War, 9/11,

through struggle, sacrifice,
and setbacks,

our better angels
have always prevailed.

In each of these moments,
enough of us--

enough of us
have come together

to carry all of us forward.

This is a great nation.

We're a good people.

And over the centuries,
through storm and strife,

in peace and in war,
we've come so far,

but we still have far to go.

soft, stirring music

Hello?

Did you see the
article this morning?

Yeah, it's really upsetting.

Um...

it's just unbelievable.

edgy music plays

The Lincoln Project
is in the hot seat.

21 men have accused
co-founder John Weaver

of sexual harassment.

Allegations that Weaver sent them

sexually provocative messages,

often suggesting
that he could help them

get work in politics.

He told one man
that he would, quote,

"Spoil you
when we see each other,

"give advice, help with bills.

You help me sensually."

According to
The New York Times,

one of the boys
was just 14 years old

when Weaver
first contacted him.

Weaver has been
on medical leave

from The Lincoln Project
since last summer

and hasn't responded to NBC
News' requests for comment.

The Lincoln Project
said it was, quote, "shocked,"

calling Weaver "a predator,
a liar, and an abuser,"

adding, "The totality
of his deceptions

"are beyond anything any
of us could have imagined,

and we are absolutely
shocked and sickened by it."

Hey, folks, I want to talk to
you tonight about John Weaver.

And it's not
an easy story to tell.

Over the weekend, on Sunday,
the New York Times

published a story
about John Weaver,

one of the seven co-founders
of The Lincoln Project.

That story was about...

contacts with John
that began in 2014,

while he was working
for John Kasich,

with a young man,
a young man of 14 years.

This is the first time
we'd heard this story,

first time
we'd had any information

about John contacting a child.

And I have to tell you,
it shocked us, disgusted us.

It left us in a state
of absolute just dread

over the fact that
that a child could have been

victimized by John Weaver.

You know, for four years now,
my kids have been victimized.

They've been stalked,
they've been harassed,

they've had rape threats
and death threats,

because I oppose Donald Trump.

And that's a burden
they had to bear.

And they've been great kids,
and they're amazing kids.

But the thought of
this guy doing this

to other people's kids,

it sickens me to the core,
and all of us.

I hope that you will
continue to repose

the confidence you've shown
in us for the last year.

We will earn it from you
every day.

We will keep this
mission going.

And I thank you from
the bottom of my heart.

somber music plays

Here's a fun fact.

I've been in the same room
with John Weaver in my life

one time.

I met John...

virtually, of course,
through LP.

The deepest feeling
I have right now

is a regret I did not know
what I should have known.

Let me tell you, if that had
come to me,

th-that John was-was
saying to interns

or staff members or anybody,

"I will give you a job
at The Lincoln Project

for sexual whatever..."

he'd be out the next day,
be out that minute.

Your door's open.

I just left it open

- for you.
- I know.

So...
how you feeling?

You know, just sort of
permanently like

-"What the fuck?"
- Yeah.

I haven't been
able to relax in...

you know, a week and a half.

This is dystopian as fuck.

I know.

I have a lot of thoughts and
a lot of feelings, I guess.

Which are?

I would love to be
released from my NDA.

- Yes.
- That's all I want.

Yep.

I don't even think I'm
allowed to call the interns

and be like, "Are you okay?
Did this happen to you?"

- Like, how are you doing?
- Yeah.

So people feel, yes,

it's a bad thing that happened.

But I don't think
anybody's imagining that,

at least from the people
that I know, who are donors--

Let me just say
a sentence to you.

The Lincoln Project

knew that John Weaver
was doing this in June 2020.

They continued
to put him in contact

and hire his interns
into October 2020.

uneasy music plays

I warned them about this
in a three-page email,

detailing 15 instances
of sexual harassment

by John Weaver.

I was told that there
was an investigation,

that he was sidelined,
and I believed the assurances

that I got from
the organization

that John had been cut out.

I did not realize the degree of
the deception and the cover-up

until October,
when he got back involved,

and I was like,
"What the fuck?"

And at that point, it was
five days to the election

and I was like,
"What am I gonna do

with this information
right now?"

Then it's in the
fucking New York Times,

and their comment is,
"We didn't know."

I'm just playing
devil's advocate,

but in terms of like,
it was all consensual--

No, and I don't think you wanna
have this fight with me.

John has been doing this
to people for 30 years.

He did a version of it to me.

You know, it's just, um...

It was like 2011,
and I was 19,

and I just got a message
from out of the blue.

I knew who he was.

And he was telling me that
there was a governor

that was going to run for
president in 2012

on the Republican side

and he was looking for
smart, young, digital talent

and kept trying to get me to
come to New York a few times.

And then I sort of
rebuffed him.

He started, like, play
a victim a little bit,

like he was like, "I'm stuck
in such a terrible situation.

Do you have any advice
for me?"

And I was like, "No."
Like, I'm 20,

and you're married
with children and gay.

I don't know how
to help you here.

And then as soon as
I re-engaged,

'cause I felt bad for him,

he slipped it right back to
the predatory-style behavior.

My dad asked me a really
kinda tough question.

You know, "How did you get
so close to people

who are apparently this bad?"

- Yeah.
- And I didn't have an answer.

And I still don't.

Well, I think we all saw
the good in this organization.

- It sucks, dude.
- Yeah.

It sucks.

"Dear Sarah, Reed, Rick,
Steve, and Stuart,

"I wanted to first express
my gratitude

"for the opportunity
that The Lincoln Project

"has provided to me.

"I believe The Lincoln Project
was on the right side

"in putting country over party.

"It is with a heavy heart
that I express my belief

"that The Lincoln Project
is an organization

"that preaches morality

"but in practice,
cannot stand up to that belief.

"I'm formally issuing
my resignation

"to The Lincoln Project,
effective immediately,

"due in part to the events

"surrounding co-founder
John Weaver

and the allegations
that have come to light."

That's that.

To learn of everything
that's come out

has been incredibly
gut-wrenching.

I just want to read out something

that they have, you know,
publicly put out there.

It's one of them that interned
with the, uh, with our team,

the political team.

"At the time, I was a senior in
college, studying government,

"and I thought
connecting with him

"could really open
some doors for me.

"But in exchange
for open doors,

"Weaver always wanted sex.

"This went on for more
than three years.

"I never knew the
extent of his actions,

"and I hope others
he targeted for grooming

"will feel comfortable with
telling their stories.

I just wish I had said
something soomer--sooner."

There is almo--I--
there is no way.

Learning what happened now,
there is no way

that the principals and people
on the principals' calls

and the founders did not
know that this was happening.

edgy music plays

When the allegations
went public last month,

The Lincoln Project said
it was, quote, "Shocked."

But a new report says
top leaders at the group

knew about at least ten
allegations against Weaver.

Here, you have, in June--

the group was
told about Weaver,

about these horrible text
messages to young boys,

promising sex for jobs,

and they did nothing.

It wasn't
complete news to me.

There had been rumblings
of John for decades.

He had a reputation
around this stuff.

And I'm going to just
be really straight.

I had interns
coming out of my ears.

John would send them to me.
I'd get resumes.

And I found out,
after the fact,

that the interns that John
at the time was sending me

were people that he was DMing.

When we first received
this email, right?

First thing I do--
send it to the attorney.

Take a look at this.

Do the necessary investigations.

It turns out that the people
who were named in the email--

they didn't want to--

they didn't want to pursue
a formal complaint

within the organization.

A board member comes to me
subsequent to that and says,

"I'm not happy
with the outcome."

And I said, "What do you
want me to do about it?"

The board was made up
of me, Ron, and Mike.

It only took two people
to make a decision.

I think it was, at least
from my perspective,

as much as I know,
it was

a bunch of right-wing,

you know,
sort of Trump-aligned trolls

who had been working
on this for many, many months.

They were out to get us.

We woke up this morning.

Veracity, our new
digital vendor, pulled.

Anedot, who runs
our money, pulled out.

Um, m-more people
have resigned.

It's just-it's-it's like...

it's falling apart.

There is a
destructive nature to secrets

and how they eat at you internally.

The day the story came out,

I got my first phone call
from an intern at the Project.

He said the cornerstone
of Trumpism

is about an abuse of power.

This is one of the reasons
why I joined.

But, he said, I feel like
I've become a victim

of what I was
fighting against.

I said, this is it.
I'm done, this--I'm done.

moody music plays

Late afternoon,
after I had resigned,

my attorney texted me and said,

"Oh my God,
Steve's statement."

Steve suggested that I
was seeking hush money.

Not only was I not--
I would never.

It is so...

arrogant and hypocritical

and antithetical to what
we said we were all about.

Let's lay it all out.

Jennifer Horn sent a letter

asking for lifetime compensation

on Christmas Eve.

Lifetime financial security,

on the backs of the donors
of The Lincoln Project.

And my answer was no.

Outrageous.

About five weeks later,

the first story came out

about John Weaver,

and she started using that

to lever the organization,

demanding compensation,

and then, after she resigned,

leaked to the press

that The Lincoln Project's
leadership

had covered up

serious allegations...

of sexual misconduct

against a founder
of the organization

so we can all
keep making money.

It was disgusting.

You are publicly
attacking a woman

going through an aggressive
contract negotiation

for fair compensation
for what she was contributing.

It was such a sexist thing
for them to do.

When they make an attack

suggesting that I would do
such a thing,

they attack the integrity

of everything
I've ever accomplished.

And one of the more
offensive moments

of the entire, uh, saga,

was Jennifer Horn
playing the victim card, um...

As...

"I'm a woman
who's been treated badly here."

Please.
Jennifer Horn,

a contract employee

who was given
an honorific co-founder title,

uh, spent most of The Lincoln
Project on leave--

paid leave--
because her mom was sick,

then ran a couple
of Facebook groups.

She says, "I want
lifetime compensation."

No.

And the response is,
"You're anti-woman."

Okay. Guess so.

Answer's still no.

I didn't learn anything
new about them

from that episode.

I knew exactly who they were
and exactly what their MO was.

Anybody who gets in your way
is disposable.

Anybody who stands up and says,

"This is not why
we got in this fight,"

is disposable.

I mean, that's just
the tip of the iceberg

of what they're capable of.

I mean, look at what we
did at The Lincoln Project.

Imagine the firepower that
we aimed at Donald Trump

being aimed at you.

moody music

I think I just, like
had gotten out of the shower

and just was, like,
flipping open Twitter.

For the first second
I was like,

this can't be
what I think this is.

Steve tweeted out screenshots
of my conversation

with the reporter,
Amanda Becker.

It felt like an assault,

and I went into, like,
a full-blown panic.

My heart was racing.
My head was pounding.

Pacing back
and forth in the room.

And that's when George called.

I was like,
"George, call them.

"You have to make
them take it down.

"Call Reed.
Call Reed right now.

They have to take it down."

But it was too late.

I mean, it was
everywhere by then.

I am shocked
at how dirty it was.

But I shouldn't be shocked,

because that
is absolutely who they are.

I do have a regret, uh,
with regard to that.

I regret the apology. Um...

She went and hired
a Lincoln Project staffer

to be her personal publicist.

Um... she gave that person
access to her Twitter account.

When that person had access

to Jennifer Horn's
Twitter account,

he saw Jennifer Horn's
direct messages with a reporter

where she was threatening
to destroy The Lincoln Project.

And this person was aware
that while that was going on,

Jennifer was also in
a financial dispute.

Her conduct was as absolutely inappropriate,

unprofessional, and unethical

as Ron Steslow's
and Mike Madrid's

and is another person who
claimed herself to be a victim

and played
a leading role

in really functionally
destroying the organization

over nonsense.

So yeah, I do regret
apologizing to her.

She's not owed an apology.

The Democrats are
facing an uphill battle

in Mr. Trump's historic
second impeachment trial,

this time for his role
in the January 6 attack

on the U.S. Capitol.

Two weeks ago,

Republicans were condemning
Donald Trump.

Now, some already appear to
be softening their stance.

Most of the
evidence is hearsay.

This is not evidence.

This is a liberal
Democratic novel.

The process of
impeachment and conviction

is a narrow tool...

a narrow tool
for a narrow purpose.

If we impeached
every politician

who gave a fiery speech
to a crowd of partisans,

this Capitol would be deserted.

Impeachment is for
removal from office.

And the accused here
has already left office.

Hyper-partisan Democrats

are about to drag
our great country

down into the gutter
of rancor and vitriol,

the likes of which
has never been seen

in our nation's history.

Instead of stopping
the Trump train,

his movement
will grow stronger,

for you will have
made him a martyr.

On this President's Day,

Donald Trump supporters

gathering to celebrate
a former President,

fresh off his second acquittal.

And tonight, he is
plotting out his next steps.

You have
all these Republicans

kissing the ring still.

Given that Trump is still
wielding so much power,

I think it does reflect

we are still very much
in the midst of this crisis.

It's not behind us.

Hey, Stuart.
How are you?

Not great.

It's been a horrible week.

I-I mean, Stuart,
I hired people,

knowing the beginning
started with John.

And Reed knew as well.

That--

T-that's not the issue.

That is not the issue.

somber music plays

Ron had made Reed and Steve
aware, back in March,

of Conor and all
these other guys. I--

I mean--

Well, then why were we
trying to cover it up

if it didn't matter?

dark, moody music

Look, I'm not going to pretend
like I didn't know,

if asked,
is the bottom line.

I sent a letter to you and
Reed, and nobody responded.

I sent you and Reed
my letter of resignation.

Okay.

I want to be honest
about mistakes.

If we were all about
the mission

and being anti-Trump and
acting differently from Trump,

things should have been handled
differently at the start.

I threw out all my
Lincoln Project gear.

The only I kept is that thing.

I-I'm embarrassed
to have been a part.

The Lincoln Project

has been coming apart
at the seams in recent weeks.

Reporting on
the anti-Trump group,

a new New York Times
article claims

there is a civil war inside
The Lincoln Project

over financial mismanagement.

The Associated Press reports

more than half of the money
raised by the project in 2020

was paid to consulting firms

tied to the group's founders
and staff.

They used a loophole

in the disclosure
of campaign finances,

and incidentally,
it is a loophole

that the Trump campaign used
to great effect as well.

So exactly
where that money ended up

simply is not knowable.

They've got all the money.

They drained--
they took all the money

from the nice, mean--
well-meaning liberals.

Meghan McCain
also got in on this.

She tweeted that "John Weaver
and Steve Schmidt

"were so despised by my dad,

"he made it a point to ban
them from his funeral.

"Since 2008, no McCain
would have spit on them

if they were on fire."

So first and foremost,

I just wanna apologize
to everybody.

One of the base tenets
of our...

of our-our movement--

which, it is a movement,
I really believe that--

has been honesty
and transparency.

And on that front, in
too many ways, we failed.

We have brought in a law firm

called Paul Hastings,
out of Los Angeles,

who is going to come in.

They've already
actually started, uh,

their inquiry, uh, into
the... the situation

regarding John Weaver.

Specific questions about John, um,

are being answered as we speak,
and we'll have a report out.

I think also there's
been a lot of questions

about the finances
of the organization,

which I'm happy to
answer questions about.

Let me just say this--

is that no one created
generational wealth.

I know that expression's
been thrown around a lot.

I believe that every dollar
we spent last year, uh,

was an effective dollar.

And I'm happy to
answer any questions.

Hey, Reed, you guys
have really screwed up here,

and I still think
you're on your back foot.

- Yeah.
- I want to hear,

"We are accountable,
personally and forever."

I am not convinced
that you can't talk about

why you had so many people
from your organization leave.

On some of those people
that left,

I literally
cannot talk about it.

I can't.

And I can't even tell you
why I can't talk about it.

You can't talk like that.

So let me-
let me just say this.

You're behind
on transparency.

You're behind on trust.

We want to be able to be
huge supporters of yours,

but we have a hard time
raising money

for you folks right now,
because you look so bad.

I think you should
consider the possibility

that the brand is so
damaged at this point,

you might need to step aside.

I'm committed to as
much accountability

as there needs to be.

So, like please understand,

like, the easy path
is to fold up the tent.

And that would be disastrous.

That would be a victory
for the dark forces, truly.

Look, all I'm saying is

you gotta find
some other way, right?

I mean, part of what is

giving me a little
hesitation here

is I am not convinced that you
can't talk about the money

and where it went.

Fuck.

Uhh.

Last time I saw you guys
was on inauguration day.

It's different world,
I mean, for us, since then.

We stepped on a landmine,
and then said,

"You know what?
That was fun.

Let's do that three
or four more times."

So now we're up to
sort of our mid-femur.

We made mistakes last year.

And what disappoints me
most in myself,

and us generally, um,
is that, like, we knew better.

And so we are now in a place where,

three weeks ago,

this was a story
about one man's behavior,

and it is now about a,
you know,

"What is The Lincoln Project?

What's wrong with us?"

We didn't hold ourselves
up to the standards

that we claimed to hold up
everybody else to.

Um... a-and that's fair.
That's totally fair.

You know,
I've been on the phone

with donors
for the last ten days.

Um...

I mean-I mean,
it's Icarus, or hubris.

Use whatever Greek tragedy
you want to.

Like,
this is not a new story.

We built this thing.
We caught fire.

You know, by September,
people are saying,

well, what are you
gonna do next?

And we hadn't
won the campaign yet,

and they're already
asking us that.

So this sort of, like,

th-these heady, you know,

sugarplums dancing in your head...

It's really, really easy to,
like, have everybody love you.

I-I've never been in that
position before, right?

You know?

You know, your friends
calling, you know, and saying,

"You guys are heroes,"

and I'm like,
that is ridiculous.

Right?

Um...
they don't do that anymore.

We're back to
being Republicans.

What's different about
the American political system,

more than anything else,
is money.

The amount of money
in American politics

is pretty unique
for a democracy.

It is unique for democracy.

Take The Lincoln Project.
We raised $100 million.

80% of that was
from small donors.

I mean, we had billionaires
who gave us money.

Um, and under our
legal structure,

you could give unlimited money,
because Citizens United.

The story here, really,
is the rise of soft money

after the Supreme Court
decision, Citizens United.

Super PACs, unlike regular
political action committees,

can raise an
unlimited sum of money

with very few restrictions.

The way a super PAC works,
a federal super PAC,

is it can raise and spend
unlimited amounts of money.

It can take in
a $1 contribution.

It can take in a
$10 million contribution.

Right?

Then, the ways that money
can be spent are very liberal.

Voter contact, television ads,

Facebook ads, direct mail, billboards,

airplanes with
"Vote Joe Biden" thing

coming out the back--
you name it.

That is not reported anywhere,

because nobody
wants that reported

because the system
is set up to be

as opaque
as it possibly can be.

And it's--you know, look, uh,
the Trump campaign--

you know, there was, like,
two companies owned by Jared,

or controlled by Jared, that
sucked a total of $700 million

out of the Trump campaign.

Nobody knows
where that money went

once they invoiced for it.

Everybody knows that
the campaign finance system

is really fucked up.

Everybody knows that the FEC
is a toothless organization,

and it's that way by design,
because neither Republicans

nor Democrats
want it to have any teeth.

The Democrats could change
this if they wanted to.

They're in control of
both Houses right now.

If they wanted to change
the composition of the FEC,

they can do it.
They haven't done it. Why?

Because it serves them, too.

So there used to be this thing
in American politics

called "general consultant"--

the James Carvilles,

the Lee Atwaters.

But in many ways,
they've kind of gone away,

because, see, there's
a limit to how much

you can charge a campaign
just as a fee

without it looking weird.

And there's a limit to how many
campaigns you can work on.

So where the real money was--

every year,
more money's spent on media.

If you were in media,
you could charge a percentage

of the dollars spent
on television as your fee.

So a lot of people who would
have been general consultants

at another era
have called themselves

media consultants,
just so they can

get into buying television.

There is an
industrial-political complex

in America,
and that is about consultants.

It's not about ideology.
It's about money.

It's about power.

Should we
regulate political consultants?

Uh, I think we ought
to regulate money.

And by regulating money,
you would regulate

political consultants.

You guys raised
about $90 million, right?

Right.

You guys
were billed $27 million.

- Mm-hmm.
- People are like, well,

if you billed 27,
where did the money go?

80% of every dollar
we spent went straight

to trying to contact a voter.

Um...

But you know, it's interesting,
because you guys mentioned,

like, how much money
my company billed, right?

You don't mention how
much Ron's company billed,

which was a similar number.

$21 million, right?

Ron bought a bunch of media.

But again, once that money
goes into an account,

you take it on faith.

Would we have been better off
if we had communicated more?

I think so.

I think more communication
is better than less.

But I don't know that, even
with greater communication,

there would have
been an accompanying

sort of satisfaction.

I love leading people,

but that's different than
managing an organization.

But somebody's gotta do it.

Seeing the stuff that we see
on social with our followers

and members and everything--

most of them are sort of like,
okay, you clearly

got a bunch of dirty laundry
you didn't take care of.

We're reading about it.

We don't wanna read about it anymore.

Oh, my...

Basically, like get your shit
together and get back to work.

You're not done yet.

Right now, I'm trying
to figure out, you know,

how to transition from a
truly fighting organization

into something that
represents millions of people.

All right.

We found the bridge.
We turned around.

There's a metaphor here, too,
but I'm not sure what it is.

We've been really good at
fighting against stuff.

Now we have to get to
fighting for something.

I know at times
you must feel very alone

with your problems
and with your difficulties.

But I want to say
how impressed I am

with what you stand for

and for the effort
that you are making.

My hero is Bobby Kennedy.

And whenever
I feel kind of down,

I'll listen to a speech
of his.

That would just
remind me of what

actual decent leadership is
and what courage looks like.

But I-I would be lying if,
like, my faith wasn't, like, shaken,

you know?

President Kennedy was
speaking to the young people

of America when he said,
"The energy, the faith,

"the devotion, which we
bring to this endeavor,

"will light our country,

and the glow from that fire
can truly light the world."

I can tell you one thing.

People-young people like
myself that are coming up

and seeing this shit and, um...

pfft.

Gotta stay hopeful that
there can be a better-

better future, but...

With history,
the final judge of our deeds,

let us go forth to
lead the land we love,

knowing that here on Earth,

God's work
must truly be our own.

soft, stirring music

To some generations,
much is given.

Of other generations,
much is expected.

This generation of Americans
has a rendezvous with destiny.

I knew the real McCain.

He was an imperfect man.

Okay, let him through,
let him through.

- Let him through.
- Complicated man.

But he was a full-on
fucking American hero

of the highest order.

The idea, though, that
we look for perfection

and we look for saints
in our political leaders

is, in part,
a childish delusion

that has brought us
to this disaster.

quiet music plays

The story of America...

- One day...
- Is one that

you can find all the optimism
you need for hope.

You can find all the pessimism
you need for despair.

Six, eight,
we don't want to integrate!

America has never
been a ship,

uh, that has sailed
on smooth seas, ever.

I pledge allegiance
to the flag...

Every generation
of American

has been born into an
imperfect and unjust country.

And every American
born into that country,

whether they died a day
later or 100 years later,

died in a more just country

than the one
they were born into.

And the question is, will
that trajectory continue?

Is it preordained?

Is it providential?

It's not.

And we are at
a hinge of history.

Can I get a Trump 2024?

Trump 2024!

Trump 2024!

Trump '24, Trump '24!

Over 20-mile-an-hour
winds didn't stop

droves of Trump supporters

from getting here
days in advance.

There's a horrible,
venomous, poisonous argument

that's bubbled up from beneath
the surface

that's disoriented
a lot of the country.

We're not going
to take it anymore.

I see a civil war coming.

I do.

At this moment in
time, we're on the edge.

Touch me again!
Touch me again!

And what
we're on the edge of

is what we've always
been on the edge of.

Will this radical concept,

this American experiment...

will it continue?

Can we expand freedom?

Or will we lose it?

USA, USA, USA, USA!

Back in the state
where presidential campaigns

are born, former President
Trump rallying supporters

and hinting at a 2024 bid.

Back to make
America great again,

dash, slash, comma, again.

Former President Donald Trump

held a huge election-style
rally

in Florence, Arizona
on Saturday,

where he repeated
his election lies

and embraced some of the
most radical Republicans.

Last year,
we had a rigged election,

and the proof is
all over the place.

We have a lot of proof,
and they know it's proof.

They always talk about
the big lie.

The big lie is
a lot of bullshit.

That's what it is.

Did anybody in here vote
for Joe Biden?

No!

Do you guys
really think he won?

No!

You're not going to convince,

at least most normal
and sane people,

that our government last year

was almost overthrown by a guy

wearing a Viking hat
and Speedos.

January 6th
allows them to create

narratives that are
negative about people

that supported Donald Trump.

Why do we not know some
of the people who we know

were really involved
in orchestrating this?

You know why.

They were almost certainly
working for the FBI.

So FBI operatives

were organizing the attack
on the Capitol.

If the President
was the party's nominee,

would you support him?

The nominee of the party?
Absolutely.

We will take this fight
to them in the courts,

in the halls of Congress,
and, if necessary,

in the streets!

Trumpism is the beginning
of a dangerous extremism.

And we're going to have some
big choices as a society

and a culture ahead.

Make no mistake.

The conspiracy
could have worked,

and it might work next time.

somber string music

Hello, from Politicology.

I'm Ron Steslow,
and I'm really excited

for today's conversation.

I have three of my fellow
co-founders

of The Lincoln Project
with me today.

Kinda cool to see, uh,
where all the magic gets done.

Each of us had taken
our own unique path

to The Lincoln Project...

I get to sit with George.
I'm very excited.

With full awareness that
those paths might diverge

after the election was over.

George, Jennifer, Mike,
thank you all for being here.

Let me just ask a big
question for the table.

Please, please.

Would you have done anything
different last year,

knowing the way things
stand today?

And answer that at any
level that you want.

That's really loaded.

- As far as the election goes--
- Any level you want.

As far as the
election goes and the role

that we all played

and the commitment
that we gave to it

and the sacrifices
that we all made

and the, you know, kinda the
pain and the difficulty

that came along with it
in a lot of personal ways, no.

Those of us at
this table engaged

in what we did last year
for a very principled,

sincere commitment
to preserve democracy

in the United States
of America.

It had to happen.

Without what The Lincoln
Project did,

we would not have
been successful.

soft, dramatic music

Now you have the gay guy,
the Latino and the woman,

all of them just decide...

They all left.
- They left.

They weren't pushed aside.
They left.

Each one of them left.

Jennifer Horn quit
to The New York Times.

- Right.
- Ron and Mike left

- of their own accord.
- Yep.

Uh, well, we didn't
turn them on-we kept

turning them on the bad guys.

- Yeah.
- Just, you know, um,

who's that guy that
shot Billy the Kid?

Pat Garrett.
We didn't know there were

going to be a whole bunch of
fucking Pat Garretts out there.

We did.

We've talked to hundreds
of major donors.

You know what they care about?

The big thing.

They care about the mission.

They care about
what we did in '20

and what we're going to do
in '22 and '24 and beyond.

The first non-peaceful
transfer of power in 244 years

of the republic took place.

Now, here we are.
The fight is not over.

This fight has just begun.

You know, I've heard a lot of
people say, are you the devil,

are you guys bad,
or are you good?

I'm curious why people
see it that way.

The old philosophy was,
just win.

Just win, baby.

And you could get there
however you needed to.

And we got there ugly
a lot of the time.

I freely admit it. Brutal.

But we turned those skills
in this election cycle

against Trump and his enablers,
but we didn't beat Trumpism.

I have to say, I--
I find it a little bit--

I'm just going to
be very honest here.

I feel like you helped
deliver us to this bad place.

I think it's a very fair
and legitimate point to say

you guys helped create this.

Um...

but what do we do?

I can't undo that.

But what I can do and what
the Lincoln Project has given us

a vehicle to do
is use the skills

that we acquired to
fight for what I think

is really the central
fight of our time,

which is for democracy.

You have eight U.S. senators.

A lot of them are from
the most elite institutions

in the world--

Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz,
Tom Cotton--these guys...

when the rioters
are outside the Capitol,

they're in there,
laughing it up

about trying to disenfranchise
tens of millions

of African-American
voters to flip the election

of Donald Trump.

That's not a political
party anymore.

That is an emergent
authoritarian movement,

that, if we're going to
preserve this country,

we're going to have to fight against,
not tomorrow,

not the next day, but for
the next 10 or 20 years.

How should we be thinking
about the long-term fight

for democracy?

Because we now know
that Trump wasn't

actually the biggest obstacle.

He was a symptom of
a deeper illness.

To really understand and
internalize what that means,

we have to understand
that this is

a reflection of these
larger social changes.

It's not just that

the Republican
Party's dysfunctional.

It is.
There's no question about it.

But there's a bigger
question about what

is happening in our society--

and this is going to be
a bit controversial.

Can democracy survive
in this new digital era?

Information warfare
is political persuasion,

manipulating who's in charge.

How much freedom and how
much equality, right?

In that environment,

what you're really
trying to do

is secure the attention
span of the public.

What Donald Trump did in
2016 was manipulate the media

by being that commodity
that everybody had to cover,

and sucked up all the oxygen
from the other candidates.

What we did with The Lincoln Project

was we turned that on him.

That's how races are going
to be run in the future.

The Lincoln Project
was formed

by top political consultants
who wanted

to fight Trump and Trumpism.

And the greatest danger
of what we're in now

is not realizing
the greatest danger.

Look.

Here's the key.

There's nothing noble
about us, in the least.

The cause is noble.

You don't have to think
we're good people.

You don't have
to agree with us.

You don't have to like us.

But we're useful.

And if you really believe
this is a fight for democracy,

and if you really believe
it's an existential fight,

you need every
useful son of a bitch

you can get on your side.

There's something happening

within the Republican Party.

I-I think it's bigger
than Trump.

A majority of
Republicans do not believe

Biden legitimately
won the election.

Do you have faith
in elections now?

No.

Does this have the
chance of happening again

in a different shape and form?

Because a lot of the people
who were there on January 6--

they're now running for office.

As expected, in Wyoming,
Republican Liz Cheney

lost her bid in the
Republican primary--

the last of the ten
House Republicans

who voted to impeach Trump.

Today, there are Republican
candidates for governor

who deny the outcome
of the 2020 election

and who may refuse to
certify future elections

if they oppose the results.

I don't know what's
legit, what isn't legit.

So you're just
questioning democracy.

No.
I'm questioning the integrity

of the election system.

I signed a letter with 120
other generals and admirals

saying that Trump won
the election, and damn it,

I stand by my word.

I know for a fact,
we will no longer

accept rigged elections.

Who's with me on that?

Good evening.

Our big story tonight
on News at 6--

the push to change
the way we vote--

19 states
have passed

34 voter restriction laws in
2021, more than any other year

in the last decade.

Every single
Senate Republican

just voted against starting
debate--starting debate--

on legislation to protect
Americans' voting rights.

Bill Barr sent a
dossier concerning

The Lincoln Project,
naming myself and Reed

and Stuart by name--

A new ad put out by
The Lincoln Project...

Fighting for
the right to vote

has been a long
American journey.

In 2022,
democracy is on the ballot.

How is The Lincoln
Project still going?

It's honestly remarkable.

- The Lincoln Project.
- The Lincoln Project--

The Lincoln Project--

Trump is threatening to
sue The Lincoln Project.

We're delighted
by the thought

that you would try
to sue us, Donald.

Do it.
Do it.

I double-dog-dare you.

funky music plays