GOP organization the Lincoln Project hit President Trump on Thursday with a Russian-language ad offering a mock “endorsement” from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The new ad, entitled “Fellow Traveler,” says in Russian with English subtitles that “Comrade Trump” has “once again” gotten Putin’s blessing in the run-up to November’s general election.
“The most important endorsement Donald Trump received in 2016 was not from your Senate Leader Mitch McConnell [R-Ky.],” the ad’s English translation reads. “Donald Trump received the most important endorsement in 2016 from our great leader, Vladimir Putin.”
The intelligence community concluded years ago that Moscow interfered in the last presidential vote with the intention of helping to elect Trump, a conclusion Trump has long rejected.
“Our special services worked overtime to elect Comrade Trump. We waged a war against the so-called ‘truth,’ and convinced you decadent Americans to believe in our comrade,” the ad says.
It arrives just days after the anti-Trump Republican group debuted another video targeting the president over reports on Russia offering bounties to encourage Taliban militants to kill coalition troops, including American soldiers.
Trump has insisted he was never briefed on that intelligence, dismissing the news as a “hoax” designed to make him look bad.
“Russia thanks you for your loyalty and friendship,” the new ad says.