Anti-Trump Republican Group Compares President To Coronavirus in New Ad: 'There's a Virus in the World'

On Wednesday, an anti-Trump Republican group, The Lincoln Project, released a new ad comparing President Donald Trump to the novel coronavirus spreading across the world.

"There's a virus in the world. For some people, the virus is easy to see, others, don't see it at all. Some say the virus isn't that bad. Others say it's malicious and dangerous," the narrator of the video says as images of empty streets, laboratories and hospitals are shown.

"Since there are those that still can't see the virus, wouldn't it be smart to tell the truth about the virus. Since there is a virus," the narrator continues as the video ends by showing a picture of Trump.

The Lincoln Project, which touts George Conway, husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, as one of its members is made up of a number of other Republican "advisors" according to the organization's website. Some of the group's advisors include former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican party Jennifer Horn, Republican strategist Mike Madrid and author Rick Wilson, who wrote the New York Times bestselling book, Everything Trump Touches Dies and works as a media consultant.

According to the organization's Facebook post about the video, the ad is aiming to embody a 1984 ad released by Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign, called "The Bear," which was directed at Democrats who didn't believe the Soviet Union posed a serious threat to the U.S.

"Just as 'Bear' called into question those who treated the then-potent Soviet Union's military threat seriously, so too did Donald Trump and his allies behave as if the growing threat of Corona/COVID-19 wasn't serious for over 6 weeks. 'Virus' is a successor to 'Bear' and asks the same kind of tough questions," The Lincoln Project wrote as a caption to the ad, which was included in the Facebook post.

The ad references Trump's downplaying of the severity of the coronavirus outbreak, which he dismissed as a "common flu," in a March 9 tweet.

Just a few days after his tweet, in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, multiple sporting events were canceled, including a suspension of the NBA season and the cancellation of the men's and women's NCAA March Madness tournament.

Prior to his tweet, while speaking to reporters at the White House in February, Trump said, "it's going to disappear. One day it's like a miracle, it will disappear," when talking about the coronavirus.

As of Wednesday, March 18, there are over 7,000 confirmed cases in the U.S., according to a tracker provided by Johns Hopkins University, and at least 113 deaths.

The Lincoln Project is not the only source of criticism that Trump has received throughout the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.

While giving speeches in their home states, Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders also expressed their distaste for the way Trump and his administration have handled the issue.

"We have an administration that is largely incompetent, and whose incompetence and recklessness have threatened the lives of many, many people in our country," Sanders said during a speech in Burlington, Vermont.

"This virus laid bare the severe shortcomings of the current administration," Biden said during a speech in Wilmington, Delaware.

Newsweek reached out to both the Lincoln Project and the White House for comment on the ad but did not receive a response in time for publication.