Disgraced Lincoln Project co-founder claims DeSantis would 'kill his political opponents'

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Democratic state rep. says migrants flown to Martha's Vineyard being used as 'political pawns'

Democratic state representative for Martha's Vineyard, Dylan Fernandez, said Thursday that migrants flown to the island from Florida were being used as "political pawns."

Disgraced Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt forcefully responded to news that Gov. Ron DeSantis had ordered the relocation of illegal immigrants from his state to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, claiming the move proves that the governor would kill "his political opponents" if he was "given the chance."

Fox News Digital reported Wednesday that Florida state officials sent "two planes full of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard on Wednesday." This move "followed through on [DeSantis’] promise to drop off illegal immigrants in progressive states" that he made earlier this year. 

Martha’s Vineyard is home and vacation getaway to some of the nation’s most influential and wealthy liberals. Former President Barack Obama has a home there, and the Clintons as well as Bill Gates have vacationed there.

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Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt tweeted Thursday that Gov. DeSantis wouldn't be above killing his political opponents.

As news of the relocation made headlines Thursday morning, an outraged Schmidt tweeted, "I’m going to say something. There is no hyperbole attached to it. I mean it. Every word. Anyone who thinks Ron Desantis wouldn’t kill his political opponents given the chance doesn’t understand who he is."

"He just proved it. The refusal to see that is stupid. Recklessly stupid," the former Lincoln Project founder added.

He wasn’t finished, adding more intense criticism of the Florida governor in subsequent posts. "The Desantis Martha’s Vineyard stunt was a capricious act of cruelty built on a mountain of dehumanization. It was an appalling act that will demonstrate the exact opposite of what Desantis and his thugs intended," he wrote. 

"It will provide an exposition on American kindness as real people come together and repudiate Desantis’ malicious cruelty and help abused people in need," Schmidt said, before providing a vivid description of DeSantis as an "infection" in America. 

"Desantis is a canker on the soul of this country. Voting is the penicillin necessary to rid ourselves of the Tallahassee infection. VOTE HIM OUT. He is a vicious man and in American," he declared, seemingly trailing off without finishing his thought or committing a typo. 

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Illegal immigrants arrive at Martha's Vineyard Airport on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.

Schmidt has since disassociated himself with the Lincoln Project, the disgraced left-wing group that unraveled after a series of humiliating scandals in 2021. Co-founder John Weaver resigned after revelations that he'd sexually harassed young, gay men online, it published private messages between a reporter and the group's lone female co-founder, and the group was hit with a series of news reports alleging financial mismanagement and a toxic work environment.

Its embarrassments continued when it confessed to being behind a widely-panned attempt to smear Virginia Republican Glenn Youngkin supporters as racists. The Lincoln Project admitted to sending five tiki-torch-wielding people – one of them a Black man – to a campaign event in Charlottesville wearing white shirts and ballcaps, all claiming to be Youngkin supporters.

Schmidt claimed that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was an "infection" in America after relocating illegal immigrants to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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The imagery brought back memories of the horrific events in the city in 2017, when violent clashes around a "Unite The Right" rally that included White supremacists culminated in the killing of a young woman. 

The disastrous 2021 stunt was ripped as desperate, gutter politics, and even then-Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe distanced himself from the effort. He went on to lose the election to Youngkin.