DNC trolls Trump and Vance with digital projections on Trump Tower in New York before debate

In a move aimed at trolling former President Donald Trump and his vice president, Senator JD VanceAhead of the first and only vice presidential debate of 2024, the Democratic National Committee digitally projected various phrases on Monday evening – including Vance previously calling Trump an “idiot.” Trump Tower in New York City.

The predictions came just hours after Vance arrived at Trump Tower on Monday ahead of Tuesday night's vice presidential debate Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota at the CBS Broadcast Center in Manhattan.

“Vance on Trump: 'What an idiot,'” one of the digital projections reads, referring to a Vance tweet from October 2016 in which he wrote “My God, what an idiot” about Trump – part of a A number of criticisms of Vance have since said he regrets it.

The DNC's predictions are also directed against the former president He will not debate Vice President Kamala Harris again. Trump has said, “It's just too late, the election has already started,” but Democrats point out that he has participated in October debates in the last two election cycles.

“Trump is a chicken!” reads another message projected on Trump Tower after Democrats sponsored billboards with the same sentiment near a Trump rally in battleground Pennsylvania last week.

Harris told supporters at a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday night that the campaign would be cheering on “Coach Walz” on Tuesday. But even though the debate is the last scheduled face-off in the 2024 cycle, she warned that “their debate should not be the last word.”

As Democrats continue to lean on Walz's background as a high school social studies teacher and football coach, another prediction is: “Go Coach Walz!”

The latest message on Monday refers to Trump Tower as the “Project 2025 Headquarters,” a line the DNC also posted at the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention in August.

The former president has tried to distance himself from the Heritage Foundation's conservative blueprint for a second Trump term, calling it “Project 25” and saying he knows “nothing about it,” but Democrats continue to associate it with Trump and Vance in connection.

DNC spokesman Abhi Rahman told CBS News on Monday that the predictions were intended to draw Republicans' attention and remind Americans that Trump would not agree to a new debate.

“As Vance takes the debate stage to try to make up for Trump's own poor debate performance, these predictions at Trump Tower NYC are a reminder that Trump and Vance are on their own while Trump remains fearful of returning to the debate stage and to be held.” “I must hold Vice President Harris accountable for his failed record and dangerous agenda,” Rahman said in a statement.

David Schwartz, a trial attorney in New York City, told CBS News that it is illegal to project digital signs in New York City for longer than 60 seconds without a permit.

“The Department of Buildings and New York City Code require permits, including for digital signs and animated signs. We have a very extensive sign law that requires you to get a permit to put up a sign, but now, in the age of digital signs, the laws have changed to include permits for digital signs as long as you have them for longer than sustained for 60 seconds,” he said.

“It's not like anyone is going to jail for it, but it is punishable by a fine. And in this political season, it may just be the cost of doing business,” Schwartz added.

Rahman, a spokesman for the DNC, said they are aware of the law and are complying with it because they will take turns reviewing individual messages that are available for no longer than 60 seconds.

CBS News will host the only scheduled vice presidential debate between Vance and Walz on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on CBS and CBS News 24/7. Download the free CBS News app for live reporting, post-debate analysis, comprehensive fact-checking and more.