The Club for Growth announced last week that it was investing more than $1 million behind two attack ads against Trump, one of which accuses the Republican front-runner of wanting to hike taxes.
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“This is the very definition of libel”, Trump’s press release on the topic asserted.
The 30-second Club For Growth ad doesn’t give detail on its tax claim, but footnotes on the group’s website cite a 2000 article in which Trump – at the time considering a Reform Party bid for the White House – called for a 14.25 percent tax on “the superwealthy”. To be clear, Mr. Trump’s tax plan, which is scheduled to be released later this week, supports a lowering of taxes.
“Tough guy Donald Trump starts whining when his liberal record is revealed”, said McIntosh.
The letter to the Washington-based Club for Growth claims its new ads portraying Trump as too liberal are “replete with outright lies, false, defamatory and destructive statements and downright fabrications”.
But Garten says the group “fails to disclose” that Trump – real estate mogul and former Atlantic City casino tycoon – suggested the concept in 1999 and has not mentioned it since.
“I am not surprised the dishonest, irrelevant and totally failing Club for Growth has resorted to attacking the definitive front-runner, especially after I refused to contribute to their pathetic group”, he said.
Trump and the Club for Growth have been feuding for several weeks. Indeed, you were not even the least bit discreet about your motives in that, after meeting with Mr. Trump, you immediately followed up with a June 2, 2015 letter requesting a “contribution of $1 million” in exchange for an endorsement by your organization’s political action committee.
Garten said he was only willing to offer the Club for Growth a “one-time opportunity to rectify this matter” and avoid “what will certainly be a costly litigation process”.
Club for Growth Action released a statement on Tuesday afternoon responding to the Trump organization’s letter saying the ad campaign will continue.
Trump did say in an interview in August that he is in favor of raising taxes on the wealthy and cutting taxes on the middle class.
Trump and The Club for Growth have feuded since Trump launched his campaign when the fiscally conservative group came out strongly against Trump’s candidacy.
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Alan Garten, Trump’s attorney, sent the letter to David McIntosh, the president of the “pitiful little group”, threatening a “multimillion-dollar lawsuit” if the ads weren’t taken down. “Thought he could buy us off. Worst Kind of Politician”.
