The Lincoln Project, a Republican PAC and frequent critic of President Donald Trump, released a new video for Thanksgiving Day showing gratitude for people who have made a meaningful impact in a difficult year.
Titled “The Lincoln Project Gives Thanks,” the video lists 11 groups of people the organization wants to express gratitude towards. As patriotic music plays, the video shows images of people who have put in serious work this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, protests, and political unrest. There is no voiceover, just text.
The video starts off thanking frontline workers and scientists, two of the groups battling the novel coronavirus head-on by treating patients and trying to find a vaccine. It also thanks essential workers (showing an image of a postal carrier) and teachers (with an image of a student in an online class on a laptop).
The praise then becomes slightly more generalized, as the organization acknowledges changes people have made to their lives in an effort to slow COVID-19’s spread, and the sacrifices people have made in the interest of safety, praising “People who wear masks” and “People staying home for the holidays.”
The video also speaks to memorable moments this year that energized the nation. The Lincoln Project thanks parents, with an image of a “wall of moms,” a group of mothers who shielded people from police and federal agents amidst the George Floyd protests against police brutality. Later in the video, it also points to “grassroots activists,” with an image of Black Lives Matter protesters
It also includes a nod to Trump’s impeachment earlier this year, showing thanks for “Patriots,” with an image of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, whose testimony was key in the impeachment.
In a final nod to the election, the video thanks poll workers, voters, and both President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
Unlike many other videos the Lincoln Project has made, the Thanksgiving message doesn’t contain criticisms of anyone. The organization started with the mission to “defeat Trump and Trumpism,” and many of its other videos consist of insults and negative commentary against the president, his supporters, and other Republicans.
With Trump’s election loss, the organization has released some content disapproving of Trump’s voter fraud claims. It has also shifted attention to the Georgia Senate runoff elections. In a message on its website, the organization calls for people to help defeat senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue in the runoffs, with a link for people to donate.
Released Wednesday, the video has been viewed over 200,000 times on YouTube and over a half a million times on Twitter. MSNBC reporter Brian Williams also aired the video at the end of his broadcast on Wednesday night, noting that it was a “very different kind of message for all of us.”
The organization also tweeted a thanks to its followers. “From all of us at The Lincoln Project, thank you to all who have joined us in this historic movement. We would not be here if not for your generosity, engagement, and support,” it wrote.
From all of us at The Lincoln Project, thank you to all who have joined us in this historic movement. We would not be here if not for your generosity, engagement, and support.
We hope you have a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving.
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) November 26, 2020
Newsweek reached out to the Lincoln Project for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Poll workers review ballots in Denver on November 3. The Lincoln Project thanked poll workers and others in a new Thanksgiving video released Wednesday. Jason Connolly / AFP/Getty
