A super PAC supporting John Kasich has begun attacking on Donald Trump, who has returned fire on Twitter and mobilized his legal team in response.
New Day for America, the super PAC supporting the Ohio governor, has begun running ads with Trump’s face next to President Obama and Ben Carson while a narrator states, “On-the-job training for president does not work.” The ad is reportedly just the beginning of a major anti-Trump crusade.
Trump responded quickly on Twitter and called Kasich a “total dud,” “total failure,” and “pathetic.”
“I want to do negative ads on John Kasich, but he is so irrelevant to the race that I don’t want to waste my money,” Trump tweeted.
Instead of making ads, Trump threatened to sue Kasich on Twitter. Kasich cannot coordinate with the super PAC under federal regulations, so it’s unclear how a lawsuit directed at the Ohio governor would stop the material that Trump finds objectionable.
But Trump’s legal counsel, Alan Garten, made sure Trump’s attempt to intimidate Kasich’s supporters ended up in the right place. Garten sent a letter to Kasich’s super PAC expressing Trump’s willingness to sue the super PAC if its ads “contain any false, misleading, defamatory, or otherwise torturous statements or representations concerning Mr. Trump’s business or his brand.”
Matt David, chief strategist of New Day for America, responded to the letter by criticizing Trump’s strategy for success.
“Mr. Trump’s been successful in suing his way to financial gain. Unfortunately, you can’t sue your way to the Oval Office,” David said in a statement. “Trump can hire every trial lawyer in the country, but voters will ultimately decide this election. You can’t sue [the Islamic State] away. Suing Vladimir Putin won’t evict Russia from the Ukraine. The role of commander in chief requires leadership, not lawyers.”
Trump has fallen to fourth in the Washington Examiner‘s GOP presidential power rankings.
