This is an adapted excerpt from August 8 episode of “All In with Chris Hayes.”
Last month, donald trump he seemed ready to return to the Oval Office. And now, Republicans can’t get people to stop calling them weird. Trump is melting in Mar-a-Lago while he watches your lead in the polls evaporates against Vice President Kamala Harris.
At a time like this, many campaign gurus might throw their old playbook out the window. But no Chris LaCivita — senior campaign adviser, known to insiders as one of Trump’s top guys and the former president’s co-campaign manager.
For two decades, LaCivita connected big Republican donors with embattled candidates and helped them win with cutting back on personal attacks against his opponents.
It’s a weird niche career that started with a dark money campaign. In 2004, a Super PAC called “Fast Boat Veterans for the Truth” helped to sink John KerryThe Democrat’s presidential candidacy with a series of ads attacking the Democratic candidate’s military record.
AND these ads were the work of LaCivita.
LaCivita’s attacks on Democratic candidates have sometimes made even her Republican clients uncomfortable. Early in his career, reporters described him as a “Republican assassin,” Using words like “hyperactive”, “manic” and “renegade”.
And now, it appears that LaCivita is following the old playbook, orchestrating right-wing attacks on his 24-year military career. Harris running mate, Governor Tim Walls of Minnesota.
I already unmasked these attacks. They are disgusting. So far, outside of the far-right social media hellscape, they’re not really landing in the same way as the attacks on Kerry.
But there’s more: the guy who made these attacks on Kerry possible 20 years ago was a donor named Harlan Corvo. Yes, what Harlan Crow: the billionaire who has lavished gifts on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for decades. Crow finally gave LaCivita “Fast Boat” Group tens of thousands of dollars.
What’s stopping you from doing it again?
It’s also worth mentioning that LaCivita isn’t just a Trump campaign adviser. This year he also became the de facto COO of the Republican National Committee, which gives you control over campaign spending.
They say everything old is new again… that includes politics.
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This article was originally published in MSNBC.com
