Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Bojangles Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 12, 2024.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
More than 100 Republican former lawmakers and officials have endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris in a letter while warning that their party’s nominee, former President Donald Trump, is “unfit to serve again.”
in the letter111 former national security and foreign policy officials shared by the Harris campaign on Wednesday said that despite their policy differences with the vice president, “we believe she has the essential qualities to be president in a way that Donald Trump does not.”
They condemned Trump for creating “daily chaos in government” during his first term, believing that he put personal interests above national interests and incited the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, “violating his oath of office.”
The group, which includes former Trump administration officials and those who served under former Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, also warned Trump was “vulnerable to foreign leaders.” flattery”.
“He is unfit to serve again as president or to hold any office of public trust,” they said in the letter, which was first reported by The New York Times earlier Wednesday.
Signatories include former CIA and FBI Director William Webster, former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte, and former U.S. Trade Representatives Kara 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 the time-tested constitutional principles of our republic,” they argued.
“His unpredictable nature is not the negotiating virtue he espouses. Rather, on national security matters, his conduct invites equally erratic behavior by our adversaries that irresponsibly threatens reckless and dangerous global consequences.”
Eight former members of Congress also endorsed the Democratic campaigns of Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in letters.
Wednesday’s letter marks the latest Republican endorsement of Harris, who is trying to appeal to moderate voters and conservatives who may be disillusioned with Trump.
Her campaign launched a “Republicans for Harris” event in August, touting the support of more than two dozen former Trump officials and other Republican members.
In early September, Harris won the support of nearly 90 business leaders, including former 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch, break Chairman Michael Linton and cry Co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman.
Dick Cheney, George W. Bush’s vice president, announced that same month that he would vote for Harris. His daughter, former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, is one of Trump’s strongest conservative critics.
At the same time, Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pencereiterated on Tuesday that he would not support any presidential candidate in the 2024 election.
Pence specifically referenced the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump pressured the then-Vice President to refuse to show legitimate Electoral College results that won President Joe Biden the 2020 election. After Pence rebuffed Trump, a mob of the then-president’s supporters stormed the Capitol and disrupted the election certification.
Wednesday’s letter quoted Pence: “Anyone who puts himself above the Constitution should not be president of the United States.”
About The Author
