Veteran political strategist Roger Stone still has Donald Trump’s back despite leaving his presidential campaign in August. On Thursday, Stone launched a pro-Trump super political action committee that will target the billionaire’s greatest competition.
Stone’s Committee to Restore America’s Greatness PAC will not accept contributions from K Street or from special interest groups, the Wall Street Journal reported. Instead, the group’s operating expenses will be covered by small-dollar donations from “average people.”
According to Federal Election Commission records, Stone’s PAC was originally named Americans for Trump. FEC rules, however, prohibit PACs from using a candidate’s name without authorization, and it is unlikely Trump would ever do so given his vehement criticism of super PACs and disavowal of outside groups that had previously supported him.
Stone said the group has no intention of developing pro-Trump advertisements, and that its mission is to “educate voters on the records of [Marco] Rubio and potentially Chris Christie, since they are on the move in New Hampshire.” He did not name Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, another Republican presidential hopeful, who recently dethroned Trump from his top spot in Iowa.
The PAC’s chaotic website blasts Rubio, a freshman senator from Florida, for his “liberal open-borders record, limited experience and how he is controlled by an [sic] handful of Wall Street billionaires.”
“The people who gave us John McCain and Mitt Romney — losers — now want to foist Marco Rubio off on us,” reads a banner on the site.
A Facebook page for the group, dating back to Dec. 15, features images of Rubio and articles praising Trump’s performance in the fifth and final GOP debate of 2015 on Tuesday night.
While the PAC filed a Statement of Organization with the FEC on Oct. 17, the Journal article Thursday marks the first time Stone has publicly spoken about the group.
Earlier this week, GOP strategist Rick Wilson and former Republican National Committee staffer Liz Mair debuted their anti-Trump super PAC, Make America Awesome. The duo plans to “Dump Trump” using “unconventional and cost-effective tactics” and a steady stream of contributions from deep-pocketed GOP donors.
