WHEN HE RAN for president in 2004, Democrats were counting on John Kerry’s military service to define him as a strong leader in a time of war. The decorated Vietnam veteran headed into the party’s convention with a small lead over President George W. Bush, who had dodged serving by enlisting in Texas’ Air National Guard. But just a week after Democrats officially nominated Kerry, he was attacked with a brutal and deceptive series of ads from an unexpected quarter: veterans who, like him, had served on swift boats in Vietnam.
Kerry’s lead evaporated, and the campaign never recovered, as “Swift Boating” entered the lexicon as shorthand for a dishonest political smear. The man largely responsible for the ads was a Virginia consultant named Chris LaCivita. He’s now co–campaign manager for Donald Trump, who, in March, also had him installed as the Republican National Committee’s chief operating officer.
If history is any guide, LaCivita’s command of Trumpworld should make Democrats very, very worried. “Chris is one of the most effective campaign operatives I have ever known,” says his friend Mo Elleithee, a former Democratic strategist who now works at Georgetown University. “He is a brassknuckle brawler who understands what moves voters…He pulls no punches.”
When Trump first announced a presidential run in 2015, the reality TV star’s campaign was a disorganized mess, run by a revolving cast of characters. (Remember Corey Lewandowski?) Several would be convicted for crimes related to the special counsel’s investigation into the campaign’s links to Russia.
This story is from the May/June 2024 edition of Mother Jones.
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This story is from the May/June 2024 edition of Mother Jones.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
In the Name of the Mother - How Shyamala Gopalan Harris raised a presidential contender
Shyamala Gopalan Harris did not believe in coddling. Pay her daughters, Kamala and Maya, an allowance for doing chores? “If you do the dishes, you should get two dollars,” scoffed the woman who this past summer, almost two decades after we spoke, would launch a million coconut memes. “You ate from the damn dishes!” Reward the future vice president of the United States—and possible future president—for good grades? Ridiculous. “What does that tell you?” her mother chided. “It says, ‘You know, I really thought you were stupid. Oh, you surprised Mommy!’ No.”
Kill the Messenger - The anti-disinformation field is retreating under attack.
A few months ago, a man crawling along a rooftop in Pennsylvania tried to murder Donald Trump at a campaign rally. Hours later, press releases started to circulate, from analysts, think tanks, politicians, and pundits, all offering to cut through the swell of confusion and misinformation.
Food + Health / Global Warning - Why Project 2025 is an environmental catastrophe in the making
When President Joe Biden took office, Democrats held a slim majority in the House of Representatives and a single-vote edge in the Senate. Despite the monumental odds, he has presided over the most productive presidential term for climate action in American history. Under Biden’s direction, the federal government took up the arduous task of incorporating climate considerations into scores of administrative operations and procedures. The epa cracked down on superpollutants and issued stricter emissions regulations for passenger vehicles. The Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest climate spending bill Congress has ever passed, brings the nation closer to its goal of slashing carbon emissions in half by 2030.
Trumpnesia - To get a second chance, Trump needs voters to forget his disastrous presidency.
One of the most oft-quoted sentences ever penned by a philosopher is George Santayana’s observation that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” In 2024, this aphorism is practically a campaign slogan. Donald Trump, seeking to become the first former president since Grover Cleveland to return to the White House after being voted out of the job, has waged war on remembrance. In fact, he’s depending on tens of millions of voters forgetting the recent past. This election is an experiment in how powerful a memory hole can be.
WHEN IN DROUGHT
This obscure yet adaptable grain could be a healthy staple for a warming planet.
BAD HABITS
A spate of recent horror movies recycle tired tropes about nuns-and reveal society's ongoing discomfort with independent women.
Taking the Fifth For a glimpse of the Supreme Court after a second Trump term, look at the radical circuit court that's already driving America to the right.
Imagine obamacare is dead and millions of Americans have lost health coverage.
THE ARCHITECT
TRUMP WANTS TO BE KING. RUSS VOUGHT HAS A PLAN TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
Losing Faith
As an evangelical leader, I enticed lawmakers and federal judges to adopt a conservative Christian agenda. Donald Trump’s rise proved how wrong I was.
GOD'S COUNTRY
These Christian nationalists have a plan to take over Americafrom small towns to the highest court in the land.
