Steve Schmidt, a co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, bought a million-dollar Utah home as the PAC raked in huge profits. The Lincoln Project saw significant financial success leading up. Stephen Edward Schmidt (born September 28, 1970) is an American communications and public affairs strategist who has worked on Republican political campaigns, including those of President George W. Bush, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Arizona Senator John McCain. Steve Schmidt, co-founder of the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project, announced Friday that he was resigning from the group's board.Schmidt said in a statement posted to Twitter that he would. The latest tweets from @steveschmidtses. The latest tweets from @SteveSchmidtSES.
© Screenshot Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt resignsSteve Schmidt, co-founder of the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project, announced Friday that he was resigning from the group's board.
Schmidt said in a statement posted to Twitter that he would step down 'to make room for the appointment of a female board member as the first step to reform and professionalize the Lincoln Project.'
The resignation comes as the anti-Trump GOP group faces growing scrutiny over its operation and handling of accusations against former co-founder John Weaver.
Weaver has been accused over the past month of sending unsolicited sexual messages to numerous young men, including sending messages to a 14-year-old.
Steve Schmidt Twitter Today
'I wish John Weaver was not a cofounder of the Lincoln Project, but as hard as I wish for that to be, I can't change that he was,' Schmidt said. 'I am enormously proud of the Lincoln Project and what we have accomplished to date.'
The group also drew scrutiny on Thursday night after its Twitter account posted screenshots of private messages between former member Jennifer Horn and Amanda Becker, a reporter for The 19th News. The screenshots were later deleted.
'That direct message should never have been made public. It is my job as the senior leader to accept responsibility for the tremendous misjudgment to release it,' Schmidt said in his statement Friday.
'I apologize on behalf of the organization and Amanda Becker,' he added.
Weaver last month acknowledged sending what he called 'inappropriate' sexual messages to young men and apologized. The Lincoln Project and other founding members have since sought to distance themselves from him.
The group announced on Thursday that it hired an outside group to review Weaver's tenure, and said it wouldn't comment on the allegations until the investigation is complete.
The announcement came as The New York Times reported that six former staffers sent an open letter to the group demanding to be released from non-disclosure agreements so they can provide information 'that would aid the press, public and our donors in answering questions relevant to the public interest.'
In addition, The Associated Press reported that more than $50 million of the $90 million that the group has raised has gone to firms controlled by its leaders. The news service, citing an analysis from ad tracking firm Kantar/CMAG, reported that roughly $27 million paid for advertisements that aired during the 2020 presidential election.
A longtime GOP strategist, Schmidt worked on the presidential campaign of late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in 2008, and on former President George W. Bush's campaign in 2004. He's been a fierce critic of former President Trump.
Schmidt announced in December that he was registering as a Democrat after spending roughly two years as an independent.
Since returning home to the White House on Monday evening after being treated for COVID-19 at Walter Reed Medical Center, Donald Trump has been tweeting more than ever, which is a lot if you’re at all familiar with the President’s Twitter habit. However, this time, Trump stepped on a land mine when he decided to insult GOP strategist Steve Schmidt, who famously ran John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign and is a co-founder of The Lincoln Project, a newly-formed political team consisting of “Never Trump Republicans.” Their aggressive attack ads have consistently gone viral and are clearly getting under the president’s skin based on this latest dust-up.
Steve Schmidt Republican Strategist Twitter
The situation began when former Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren chastised Schmidt for calling Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn a “five star fool.” Van Susteren’s tweet caught the President’s attention, and he saw an opportunity to take a crack at The Lincoln Project co-founder. In a boastful tweet, Trump wrote, “I’ve beaten him and his very few remaining clients so much, and so badly, that he has become a blathering idiot.”
This information was not only false, but the attack proved to be a mistake as it provoked Schmidt into unloading a massive Twitter thread taking the president to task for everything from his low SAT scores to his COVID diagnosis to his alleged $500 million debt.
You’ve never beaten me at anything. This is our first dance. @realDonaldTrump. Did you like #covita. @ProjectLincoln. @TheRickWilson@stuartpstevens@reedgalen. We are so much better at this than your team of crooks, wife beaters, degenerates,weirdos and losers. You are losing 1 https://t.co/w1E9ZvRaYc
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) October 7, 2020
.@realDonaldTrump We heard you loved Evita. You saw it so many times. Where will you live out your years in disgrace? Will you buy Epstein’s island? One last extra special deal from him? Or will you be drooling on yourself in a suite at Walter Reed? Maybe you will be in prison?2
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) October 7, 2020
I bet you fear that. @ManhattanDA may not be around to cover for you or your crooked kids anymore. @elizaorlins doesn’t believe in different sets of rules for the Trump’s. What about the State AG? You know what you’ve done. Oh Donald. @realDonaldTrump who do you owe 3/
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) October 7, 2020
Almost $500 million in personally guaranteed loans to? Its’ all coming down. You think you and your disgusting family are going to be in deal flow next year? Are you really that delusional? You are lucky Chris Wallace interrupted you after @JoeBiden said you @realDonaldTrump 4/
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) October 7, 2020
Weren’t smart. You started to melt down. That’s the place that hurts the most. Right? Fred SR knew it. You’ve spent your whole life proving it. You aren’t very smart. You couldn’t take the SAT’s on your own. What was the real score? 970? We both know you know. Are the steroids 5
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) October 7, 2020
Steve Schmidt Twitter
Wearing off? Is the Euphoria fading? Do you feel foggy? Tired? Do you ache? How is the breathing? Hmmm. Are you watching TV today @realDonaldTrump. We will have some nice surprises for you. Everyone is laughing at you. You are a joke. A splendid moron turned deadly 🤡 clown.
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) October 7, 2020
.@realDonaldTrump you are the worst President in American History. Disgrace will always precede your name. Your Grandchildren and great grandchildren will grow up ashamed of their names. One day I suppose there will be some small and not much visited library that bears your name
— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) October 7, 2020
Schmidt also made constant references to “Covita” the latest attack ad from The Lincoln Project. Released on Wednesday morning, the new spot parodies the hit musical “Evita” while criticizing Trump for his lack of concern for White House staffers after he immediately took off his mask before entering the residence despite being infected with COVID.
Judging by his tweet lashing out at Schmidt, it would seem Trump was not a fan. Then again, this could just be another example of Trump being Trump.
You can watch “Covita” below:
Covita. pic.twitter.com/AvF1pZCPGc
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) October 7, 2020