An anti-Donald Trump Republican political action committee has launched a six-figure ad campaign in Pennsylvania and three other swing states focusing on the latest criminal indictment handed down against the former president.
The 30-second ad sponsored by the Republican Accountability Project plays clips of violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, over sound from Trump’s speech at the Ellipse that morning.
“Trump did this,” the ad states. “He’ll do it again unless he faces consequences.”
Donald Trump’s lies caused January 6.
He must be held accountable. pic.twitter.com/CZNBm5V9aX
— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) August 1, 2023
Trump was charged in federal court in Washington, D.C., Tuesday with four felony counts of interfering with the results of the 2020 presidential election that saw Democrat Joe Biden defeat the Republican incumbent. Trump is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on the charges.
Tuesday’s indictment was the third lodged against Trump this year, including charges that he paid hush money to ex-porn actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election campaign to cover up a sexual relationship and that he kept classified documents after leaving office at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Trump also faces a fourth potential indictment in Fulton County for his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. Biden became the first Democratic presidential nominee to carry the Peach State since Bill Clinton in 1992.
The new ads will run in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Wisconsin – all states Biden narrowly won in 2020 – as well as nationally on Fox News.
The Republican Accountability Project is an offshoot of Defending Democracy Together, a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization created by lifelong conservatives and Republicans — many of whom have served in Republican administrations and write for conservative publications. William Kristol and Sarah Longwell are founding directors, while Longwell serves as Executive Director.
The group says it will support Republicans who are defying party leadership and defending the republic’s institutions; work to unseat those who have tried to overturn a legitimate election and supported impunity for political violence, including by strategically recruiting and promoting primary challengers through our PAC; and push back against lies and conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud and “rigged” elections.