Politics
111 Republican former officials endorse Harris, say
Trump is ‘unfit to serve’
Published Wed, Sep 18 202410:36 AM EDTUpdated An Hour
Ago
Kevin Breuninger
@KevinWilliamB
More than 100 Republican former lawmakers and officials
endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Vice President
Kamala Harris in a letter, while warning that their own
party’s candidate, former President Donald Trump, is
“unfit to serve again.”
In the letter, shared by the Harris campaign Wednesday,
111 former national security and foreign policy
officials said that despite their disagreements with
the vice president’s policies, “we believe that she
possesses the essential qualities to serve as President
and Donald Trump does not.”
They decried Trump for sowing “daily chaos in
government” during his first term in office, arguing
that he put his personal interests before the country’s
and “violated his oath of office” by inciting the Jan.
6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The group, which includes former Trump administration
officials as well as officials who served under former
Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George
W. Bush, also warned of Trump’s “susceptibility to
flattery” by foreign leaders.
“He is unfit to serve again as President, or indeed in
any office of public trust,” they said in the letter,
which The New York Times first reported earlier
Wednesday.
The signatories include former CIA and FBI director
William Webster, former director of national
intelligence John Negroponte, and former U.S. trade
representatives Carla Hills and Robert Zoellick.
They acknowledged many Republicans’ concerns about
Harris and preference for Trump. “But any potential
concerns pale in comparison to Donald Trump’s
demonstrated chaotic and unethical behavior and
disregard for our Republic’s time-tested principles of
constitutional governance,” they argued.
“His unpredictable nature is not the negotiating virtue
he extols. To the contrary, in matters of national
security, his demeanor invites equally erratic behavior
from our adversaries, which irresponsibly threatens
reckless and dangerous global consequences.”
Eight former members of Congress also endorsed the
Democratic ticket of Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz
in the letter.
Wednesday’s letter marks the latest addition of GOP
support for Harris, who has sought to appeal to more
moderate voters and conservatives who may be
disillusioned with Trump.
Her campaign in August launched “Republicans for
Harris,” touting endorsements from more than two dozen
ex-Trump officials and other GOP members.
In early September, Harris won the support of nearly 90
corporate leaders, including former 21st Century Fox
CEO James Murdoch, Snap
Chairman Michael Lynton and Yelp
co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman.
Dick Cheney, the vice president to George W. Bush,
announced the same month that he would vote for Harris.
His daughter, former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, is one of
Trump’s loudest conservative critics.
Meanwhile, Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence,
reaffirmed Tuesday that he would not endorse any
presidential candidate in the 2024 election.
Pence specifically referenced the events of Jan. 6,
2021, when Trump pressured his then-vice president to
reject the lawful Electoral College results showing
President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. After Pence
rebuffed Trump, a mob of the then-president’s
supporters stormed the Capitol and derailed the
election certification.
Wednesday’s letter included a quote from Pence: “Anyone
who puts himself over the Constitution should never be
President of the United States.”
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