Since the COVID-19 first landed in America, President Donald J. Trump’s relationship with Dr. Anthony Fauci, who became the most famous face amongst the coronavirus task force, has been tricky. Trump has repeatedly expressed displeasure with him, as well as obvious jealousy of the rave reviews he’s received and trust he’s earned from the American people. On Sunday he even told the crowd at one of his rallies he was thinking of firing him “a little bit after the election.” It was a grim moment, even for Trump, and it’s inspired one of the most vicious commercials yet from Lincoln Proejct, the band of anti-Trump Republicans whose mission is to take him down.
As is usual with the group, the ad was turned around very quickly — less than a day after Trump’s threat. What’s more, it’s got as a narrator no less than Harrison Ford. The erstwhile Han Solo begins the PSA by listing his credentials: how he’s served as the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since the Reagan administration, serving “tirelessly, honorably, and selflessly” through presidents Republican and Democrat.
When things get to Trump, though, it quickly cuts to the famous clip of Dr. Fauci seeming to touch his head in frustration during one of the president’s coronavirus press conferences. To really drive it home, it then plays audio of whipped-up rally crowd calling for his firing, followed by Trump swearing he’d fulfill their demands.
It then gives voters a choice for November 3. “Tomorrow, you can fire only one of them,” Ford intones over a slit image of Trump on one side and Dr. Fauci on the other. “The choice is yours.” Hopefully enough people realize which one has been the person keeping them alive over the last ten months, and if they’ve been lucky.
The ad was dropped the same day as another Lincoln Project video, one that happened to star one of Ford’s fellow Star Wars alumni, Mark Hamill. You can watch their Ford/Fauci ad in the video above.
(Via Deadline)