Steve Schmidt, co-founder of the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project, slammed the media for its coverage of the former president ending his blog, and warned that Trump’s words will “surely kill again.”
In a lengthy Twitter thread, Schmidt, a veteran GOP strategist, weighed into on how to assess the former president’s relativity and power amid the shutdown of the “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump” blog.
Schmidt criticized the “profoundly stupid media coverage” around the blog’s shutdown, and argued against the notion that it’s “evidence of his decline, irrelevance and diminishment.”
But Schmidt said that the blog’s popularity — or lack there of — has nothing to with how much power the former president actually yields, and warned that he presents 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,” Schmidt said.
“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 further said that Trump is the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee, and is “in command of the party lock, stock and barrel.” He also warned that when Trump becomes a candidate again, Facebook and Twitter will lift their bans.
“We are in the early years of a great struggle in this country that will last a long time provided the pro democracy side can win elections because we are one away from seeing the autocratic side take power,” Schmidt said. “They will not relinquish it again when they do.”
Schmidt resigned from The Lincoln Project in February amid scrutiny of allegations that former co-founder John Weaver sent unsolicited sexual messages to numerous young men.