Anti-Trump Lincoln Project co-founder says past tweets shouldn’t define him, then cans employee for offensive messages a day later

The Lincoln Project, an anti-Donald Trump organization founded by Republicans, has fired its video editor Ben Howe for years-old tweets using female anatomy as an insult – despite one of its co-founders engaging in similar antics.

“Based on these unacceptable and offensive posts, and those that came to light last week, Ben Howe is no longer affiliated with the Lincoln Project, effective immediately,” Keith Edwards, a spokesman for the group, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The tweets in question were emailed to the organization by the 19th News, a non-profit media outlet, and had been highlighted by other groups within the last week. 

The old posts included some by Howe, who previously worked for conservative blog RedState, calling critics a “tw*t” or “vagina” – and sometimes using more offensive language.

“I want to be a feminist but every time I call someone a c**t I get yelled at,” another tweet from 2018 read.

In his own statement, Howe called the past writings “inexcusable” and “ill-advised.” 

On the eve of Howe’s firing, Lincoln’s co-founder Rick Wilson found himself in the hot seat during an interview on Stephen Colbert’s CBS All Access series ‘Tooning Out the News’, where his own past tweets were highlighted – but he did not show any of the remorse being expressed by Howe. 

Some of the messages referred to former President Barack Obama as a “b**ch” – an insult Wilson seems to be fond of, as in Monday’s interview he called Trump a “whining b**ch addicted to Twitter.”

“Yes, he is a b**ch. That is the biggest insult, comparing someone to a woman,” cartoon host Sarah Sabo responded to the remark. “I hate us.”

Wilson’s past support of George W. Bush and some of his other disparaging remarks were brought to light, to which he responded by saying people can move on from their past. 

“Not every quote that you have on Twitter is something you’re going to live with forever,” he said. 

Wilson’s past may not be relevant to him, but it certainly is relevant for those criticizing his organization for firing Howe. 

“This is dumb. Rick Wilson was flying the rebel flag, saying the South Will Rise Again! But @BenHowe gets fired over some Tweets,” conservative pundit Mike Cernovich tweeted, highlighting the fact that Wilson has been pictured with the Confederate flag in the past – despite an ad from his organization that criticizes Trump’s support for the very same thing.

Amanda Becker, a Washington correspondent for the 19th News, even seemed confused by the firing, as the original inquiry into Howe’s tweets was intended to find out what the Lincoln Project was doing to “appeal to women.”

The Lincoln Project is mainly known for a series of ads, many of which were put together by Howe, targeting Trump and his administration. The president has called them “losers” and a “disgrace to Honest Abe.” 

The attention has only bolstered the group, though, as they raised over $16 million last quarter and plan to expand their operations ahead of November’s presidential election.

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