Friend, 

Every campaign worth its salt starts out with a great team and an even better candidate. Thankfully, when it comes to Donald Trump’s campaign…well, he just can't help himself. 

Don’t get us wrong, Trump has surrounded himself with smarter people this time around. We know he doesn’t want to go down in history as a two-time loser, but some things just never change. He’s trying to get the old band back together. That means he’s searching every white collar prison, pointless think tank, and second-rate book tour just to find his old buddies who doomed him in 2020. Here’s a look at Trump’s nightmare team:

Paul Manafort - Yep, this guy. When the first thing on somebody’s Wikipedia page is “convicted felon,” most people tend to stay away from them, much less hire them to fundraise for a presidential campaign. To Trump however, this doesn’t seem to matter. Even though Manafort was just sentenced to 43 months in prison (after Trump pardoned his 7+ year sentence for tax evasion), the consensus is that he’ll be available in July during the RNC. Naturally, Trump wants Manafort to handle things in Milwaukee. Bankrupt moral compass? Yes. But remember, Manafort was essential in 2016. 

Corey Lewandowski - What a deep cut. Shocker, this guy has also been charged with a crime. He was Trump’s campaign manager back in 2016 before he was ousted for sexually harassing a major donor’s wife. We’re honestly surprised Trump didn’t give him a promotion. Never speak too soon though, word on the street is that Trump wants Corey by his side through November. Just like old times. 

Christina Bobb - Alright, unless you watched OAN (before it was kicked off of cable), you probably won’t remember Christina. To summarize, she spent her time on TV pushing Trump’s “rigged” election conspiracy that ultimately resulted in a multi-billion dollar settlement with Dominion. So what’s her new position at the RNC? Senior Counsel for Election Integrity, of course!

Roger Stone - The name you’ve been waiting for. The little man with the glasses who skipped town during the insurrection. Convicted and pardoned, Roger has been seen around Mar-a-Lago a lot recently, stirring up rumors about his possible return to Trump’s campaign. We can’t imagine Trump running his second-rate campaign without this guy around.

So, now that you know some of the major players, you may be asking yourself, “Why is Trump surrounding himself with a bunch of convicted criminals from his previous failed campaign?” It’s because criminals surround themselves with criminals. It’s because Trump wants nothing more than to be surrounded by a bunch of spineless yes men. It’s because he thinks that he can sleepwalk through this process and the American people will hand him this election in November.

But he’s forgetting about us. It’s up to us to stop him. It’s up to us to protect democracy. Help us deny him for the second time in November>>

-The Lincoln Project