Bill Kristol-Backed Group Airs Ad on ‘Fox & Friends’ Urging Trump Not to Fire Mueller

A group founded by “Never Trump” Republican commentator Bill Kristol aired an ad on Fox & Friends Wednesday morning urging President Trump not to fire special counsel Robert Mueller.

The 30-second spot, created by the 501c4 group Republicans for the Rule of Law, opens with a segment highlighting Mueller’s military service in the Vietnam War and his tenure as head of the FBI under former President George W. Bush.

“Mueller has been trusted by Republicans to put America first,” the ad says.

The ad then cherry-picks quotes from congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI).

“I have a lot of confidence in Bob Mueller,” McConnell says in the ad.

“This is our justice system, and our justice system needs to play out,” Ryan says shortly before the ad cuts to Vice President Mike Pence.

“The special counsel has a job to do,” Pence says.

The ad closes with the tagline, “Call your representative, protect the Mueller investigation,” and displays ruleoflawrepublicans.com in the corner.

Republicans for the Rule of Law, according to its website, bills itself as “a coalition of Republicans who believe the Special Counsel’s investigation should be completed without political interference,” claiming to “represent the majority of Republicans.”

But despite a poll released Tuesday showing that the majority of Republicans favor Trump, the group’s board of directors includes several prominent critics of Trump.

Several “Never Trumpers” sit on its board of directors, including founding member Bill Kristol, Mona Charen, Sarah Longwell, Linda Chavez, and Andy Zwick.

Charen, a “Never Trump” columnist for National Review Online, gained notoriety after calling Marion Le Pen’s appearance at February’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) “a disgrace.”

Chavez suggested in a January appearance on CNN’s State of the Union that Christians who supported Trump were hypocrites.

The website for the organization also includes quotes from Sens. Lindsay Graham, Jeff Flake, and Bob Corker—all Republican senators who criticized the president.

Trump denounced the Mueller investigation for straining the U.S.’s relationship with Russia on Tuesday morning in a series of tweets, causing speculation that the president would consider firing the special counsel.