Liberal commentator and HBO host Bill Maher gave the opportunity on his show Friday to Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt to address his abrupt resignation from the anti-Trump group just hours earlier and the scandal that it still faces, but he declined to press the issue.
“I’m not here to prosecute you,” Maher told his guest, who was introduced as the principal of SES Strategies and an MSNBC contributor.
Maher mentioned to Schmidt the fallout from a recent string of allegations that the Lincoln Project failed to address claims of sexual harassment by one of the group’s co-founders, John Weaver, in a prompt manner, but only in passing while talking about money in politics.
“I know you’ve had a rough week with this,” Maher told Schmidt. “You can say whatever you want here.”
Maher proceeded to read a quote from New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who called the political action committee “scam territory” in November and said that the group should donate their dollars to grassroots organizers who helped President Biden win and “people who actually made a big difference.”
The Real Time host lauded the Lincoln Project’s politically targeted ads that aimed to smear former President Donald Trump during the 2020 general election cycle, saying that “liberals love those ads.”
Schmidt bragged about the Lincoln Project’s efforts to lambaste Trump’s image during the campaign last year, which took aim at the former president’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, among other critical talking points.
“Look, I think we built the most successful super PAC in American political history, we turned it into a movement, and I think we did tremendous damage to Donald Trump,” Schmidt said.
Maher challenged Schmidt on his response, asking why “did he do 6 percentage points better with Republicans than in 2016? He got 94% of Republican votes and 88% the first time.”
“I think that sometimes you say things at the beginning, and they take on the aura of gospel. We were trying to win the election. I really didn’t give a shit how many Republicans voted for Trump or not,” Schmidt said.
The Lincoln Project co-founder added, “At the end of the day, I’m proud of the fact that we destroyed Donald Trump’s and [former Vice President] Mike Pence’s relationship and took Pence out of public life.”
From 2019 to 2020, the Lincoln Project raised $87,404,908. It disbursed over $50 million of its funds to insiders and consultants, as well as longtime Republican operatives, including Schmidt, Associated Press reported.
Schmidt said about $63 million to $67 million went into what he billed as “voter-contact programs.”
“Well, where’d the other money go?” Maher asked.
Schmidt claimed that the group did not have to disclose subcontractor payments, “which is how you protect your staff and all sorts of vendors from the harassment of the Trump people.”
The fallout from the alleged sexual abuse scandal involving Weaver, who has since left the group, has caused several staff members from the Lincoln Project to resign, including Schmidt, who announced his leave from the board Friday evening.
Schmidt was also a longtime strategist for the late Sen. John McCain. McCain’s daughter and a co-host on The View, Meghan McCain, took aim at Schmidt and Weaver on Friday evening on Twitter, saying, “No McCain would have spit on them if they were on fire.”
1. I’ve been very hesitant to comment but since my deceased father keeps getting invoked I will say this:
John Weaver and Steve Schmidt were so despised by my Dad he made it a point to ban them from his funeral. Since 2008, no McCain would have spit on them if they were on fire.
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) February 13, 2021
