Fact Check: Has No Labels Said It Will ‘Do What It Takes’ to Help Trump?

The group has said the opposite.

By
5
FormerPresident Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in Bedminster, New Jersey, on June 13, 2023. Trump appeared in court in Miami for an arraignment regarding 37 federal charges regarding his mishandling of classified material after leaving office. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images.)

A recent tweet from the Lincoln Project claims that No Labels, the nonpartisan political organization considering fielding a third-party presidential candidate, “is on record saying they’ll do what it takes to hurt Biden and help Trump.” 

This claim is false and is in fact refuted by an article that the Lincoln Project included in its tweet. No Labels leadership has asserted that it will pursue a third-party ticket only if it is confident it can win.

The article, from The Hill, cites an NBC interview with Nancy Jacobsen, No Labels founder and CEO, where she said, “We will not spoil for either side. The only reason to do this is to win.”

“We’re not going to offer our ballot-line if it looks like it’s going to be a wasted vote,” Jacobsen said in the same interview.

“We are clear and transparent about not doing anything to help our nation step backwards with Trump,” Benjamin Chavis, a former CEO of the NAACP and current national co-chair of No Labels said last month in a No Labels statement. 

“If we find that the polls are changed and Joe Biden is way, way out ahead, and the person who the Republicans may choose—and if they continue to choose Donald Trump, even though he’s been indicted—then No Labels will stand down,” Chavis told NBC. 

“We have no interest in fueling a spoiler effort,” said No Labels chief strategist, Ryan Clancy, in a radio interview in April. If no third-party candidate that has a genuine chance of winning emerges, “We will fold up shop on this effort and we will just stand down and double down on the work we’ve been doing in Congress,” said Clancy.

If you have a claim you would like to see us fact check, please send us an email at factcheck@thedispatch.com. If you would like to suggest a correction to this piece or any other Dispatch article, please email corrections@thedispatch.com.

5
By
Comments (5)
Join The Dispatch to participate in the comments.
 
  1. Avatar photo
    Dave IL

    Yes, they can say both that "We're in it to win it" and "We will not run if we can't win". They have the timing wrong. They must settle on a viable team and launch the campaign. They should still make it clear that they will drop out on October 1 if they can't win. I realize that every campaign manager will tell them not to run that way. They will be wrong. At this time, in this situation, the stigma of running as a spoiler is a bigger factor than any negatives attached to admitting that you might withdraw from the race. with a month to go.

    Collapse
  2. Jack H Wolf

    Agree that No Labels is not purposely a spoiler for Trump.
    Lincoln project, for what is a group of former Rs seems single focused on punishing Rs and are noteworthy for running against Rs as moderate as Susan Collins.
    That being said, it appears likely it will be Trump vs Biden. 538 did a wonky dive into the numbers, and did conclude that a No Labels candidacy by a Manchin or Larry Hogan would hurt Biden more than Trump.
    We can take Chavis at his word that he won't help Trump. It is clearly not their motive, but it could be the result.
    Here is the 538 piece: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/third-party-candidate-spoiler-trump-biden/

    Collapse
  3. Avatar photo
    Gibby

    Thank you for this

    Lincoln project was such a sham

    Collapse
  4. Christophergeis

    The lying doesn't really surprise me at this point. Linking an article that contradicts what you are saying, and whose thumbnail summary even contradicts you just seems...mind bogglingly incompetent.

    Collapse
  5. Avatar photo
    J. Eric

    The willingness if partisan institutions to abjectly lie is truly beyond my comprehension. Although I would never have known about this without the fact check, it is helpful to realize the Lincoln Project is still a vile organization.

    Collapse