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Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and political commentator Ben Tribbett discusses the tight Virginia gubernatorial race and voters' concerns about rising U.S. crime.
Following the disgraceful reveal that the Lincoln Project was behind a viral political stunt in Virginia, media outlets continued to refer to the group as "Republicans."
On Friday, a small group dressed as "Unite the Right" rally goers claiming to support Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin stood in front of the Republican’s campaign bus. Democrat candidate Terry McAuliffe and his campaign then attempted to link the demonstrators and Youngkin’s campaign to the White nationalists who participated in the deadly events of Charlottesville in 2017.
LINCOLN PROJECT CO-FOUNDER DOUBLES DOWN ON ‘UNITE THE RIGHT’ STUNT AT YOUNGKIN RALLY
A small group of demonstrators dressed as "Unite the Right" rally-goers with tiki torches stand on a sidewalk as Republican candidate for governor of Virginia Glenn Youngkin arrives on his bus for a campaign event at a Mexican restaurant in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S. October 29, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
However, after widespread skepticism from Twitter users, the Lincoln Project eventually took credit for the stunt as a "demonstration" against Youngkin.
"The Lincoln Project has run advertisements highlighting the hate unleashed in Charlottesville as well as Glenn Youngkin’s continued failure to denounce Donald Trump’s ‘very fine people on both sides.’ We will continue to draw this contrast in broadcast videos, on our social media platforms, and at Youngkin rallies," the group stated in a press release.
Despite this, there continued to be efforts from the media to link the stunt to Republicans through the Lincoln Project.
A small group of demonstrators dressed as "Unite the Right" rally-goers with tiki torches stand on a sidewalk as Republican candidate for governor of Virginia Glenn Youngkin arrives on his bus for a campaign event at a Mexican restaurant in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S. October 29, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
Reuters described the scene on Twitter as a "Group of anti-Trump Republicans was behind tiki torches in Virginia campaign." Within its article, the site also calls the Lincoln Project a "group of mostly Republican critics of former U.S. President Donald Trump."
Meanwhile, the Washington Post also labeled the Lincoln Project as "an anti-Trump Republican group" in opposition to claims that Democrats were responsible. The Guardian also described the demonstrators as "members of the anti-Trump Republican group" the Lincoln Project.
These descriptions were slammed on Twitter for both ignoring Democrat connections in the political stunt and labeling the Lincoln Project as "Republican."
In this combination photo, Virginia gubernatorial candidates, Democrat Terry McAuliffe left, and Republican Glenn Youngkin appear during the Virginia FREE leadership luncheon, in McLean, Va., on Sept. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen) (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Senior Editor of The Federalist Mollie Hemingway tweeted "Stop lying. The word for people who spend 100% of their time and money working to elect Democrats is ... DEMOCRAT, not Republican. Stop, stop, stop with the propaganda and lies."
Journalist Kyle Becker also wrote, "They are not Lincoln Project staff members, they are led by the Dem operative Lauren Windsor, two are connected to Young VA Dems and one is a radical associate of hers."
Former Fox News contributor Richard Grenell also wrote "Wrong! This post should be labeled as fake news. Where is @TwitterSupport? These people are Democrats. Who is editing for @Reuters?"
Although the Lincoln Project took credit for the demonstration, several Twitter users found connections to Democrat organizations. Further, Fox News found that the Lincoln Project spent approximately $300,000 in the Virginia election favoring McAuliffe.
The Virginia gubernatorial election will be held on Tuesday.