Donald Trump's allies poured more than $90 million into an advertising campaign that flooded the airwaves with TV ads described as "deeply offensive" and often misleading, according to a new analysis.
The dark money group Citizens for Sanity, which formed in mid-2022 and has ties to Trump's inner circle, ran ads during the World Series and other broadcasts in battleground states with hateful messages about LGBTQ people and featuring disturbing images of violent crime involving Black people, according to new tax records obtained by Documented and the Guardian.
"Citizen for Sanity’s spending has continued into this election cycle, with more recent ads focusing intensely on 'anti-white' racism," the Guardian reported. "One ad from last year plays on racist fears of white Americans being disadvantaged by diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) metrics, falsely claiming that 'leftwing politicians think skin color and gender identity should determine who gets the job.'
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"Another ad declares that equity is 'leftwing code for whites and Asians not welcome.' The group asserts that 'Democrats used to care about the middle class, now they just care about your race and your gender.' Other ads have targeted Democrats in competitive races, such as the senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio."
Tax records reveal the group is based out of the headquarters of the Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI), a “nerve center for the right wing” staffed with former Trump officials and allies like Mark Meadows and election denier Cleta Mitchell, and it has spun off other projects, including America First Legal, created by Meadows and former Trump adviser Stephen Miller.
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America First Legal also employed Citizens for Sanity’s three board members, former Trump administration officials Gene Hamilton, John Zadrozny and Ian Prior .
"Citizens for Sanity’s staggering $93 million in spending eclipsed that of its parent groups, surpassing even the combined total spent by CPI ($23 million), and America First Legal ($35 milllion)," the Guardian reported. "The funding totals hints at the sheer amount of money flowing through CPI’s growing Capitol Hill empire, as CPI and its allies work to promote an extreme political agenda and prepare for a second Trump term. It also is further evidence that attacks on equality and attacks on democracy are often coming from the same place."