Lincoln Project doubles down on 'white supremacist' #TikiGate hate hoax targeting Glenn Youngkin

The co-founder of the Lincoln Project is doubling down on the group’s failed attempt on Friday to smear Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin.

On Friday, the Lincoln Project claimed responsibility for a political stunt that saw five members of the VA Democrats posing as members of the “alt-right” with tiki torches in front of a Youngkin tour bus, the Post Millennial reported.

The organization claims that it organized a group of five people posing as white supremacists to stand outside Youngkin’s tour bus at an event in Charlottesville, the site of the “Unite the Right” rally in 2017, which saw clashes between self-described members of the “alt-right” and white nationalist groups against their opponents.

Speaking to Chris Cuomo on late Friday, Lincoln Project co-founder Stuart Stevens told Chris Cuomo that he had no intention of apologizing for the effort, which caused a firestorm of controversy on social media – ultimately backfiring on the VA Democrats and the Lincoln Project.

“No,” said Stevens when asked if he wanted to apologize, telling Cuomo that the stunt was an example of why so many liberals have donated to the Lincoln Project, as reported by the Daily Mail.

“Listen. Every day I hear people pleading with the Lincoln Project to help show Democrats how to win, how to play hardball,” said Stevens. “You know, this is an example.”

“The question here is not about some guys who showed up at a rally,” said Stevens. “It’s why hasn’t Glenn Youngkin denounced Donald Trump for saying that there are good people on both sides? I mean, that is absolutely outrageous. And it’s because Glenn Youngkin wants it both ways. And I think that’s the message that needs to be driven here.”

“You know, the Lincoln Project was the first in this race to put Charlottesville in an ad. And some people thought maybe it went too far. But we did it. And it worked. And then McAuliffe's campaign followed us and put Charlottesville in a very good ad they did. So I think the question here is, we can't ignore what happened in Charlottesville, the question is why hasn't Glenn Youngkin denounced Donald Trump?”

The Lincoln Project says that it intends to continue performing more stunts like the one on Friday until Youngkin disavows Trump.

“Glenn Youngkin has said: 'President Trump represents so much of why I am running,” the statement read. “Youngkin proves it every day by trying to divide Virginians using racial code words like Critical Race Theory and supporting a ban on teaching the works of America's only Black Nobel laureate.”

“The Youngkin campaign is enraged by our reminder of Charlottesville for one simple reason: Glenn Youngkin wants Virginians to forget that he is Donald Trump's candidate,' it said in a statement. 'We will continue to hold Glenn Youngkin accountable. If he will denounce Trump's assertion that the Charlottesville rioters possessed 'very fine' qualities, we'll withdraw the tiki torches. Until then, we'll be back.”

Despite claims that President Trump said that there were “very fine people on both sides,” Trump explicitly denounced the racists in attendance.

"So you know what, it’s fine. You’re changing history. You’re changing culture. And you had people -- and I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists -- because they should be condemned totally. But you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists. Okay? And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly,” said Trump.