More than 200 aides of four previous Republican presidential candidates have endorsed the candidacy of Democrat Kamala Harris to the White House, warning that the notion of a second term for Republican candidate Donald Trump is “simply unsustainable” and “will hurt real, everyday people.”
In an open letter, first published on Monday by USA Today238 people who worked for former President George H.W. Bush, former President George W. Bush, former Arizona Sen. John McCain and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney are calling on their fellow “moderate Republicans and conservative independents” to join them in supporting Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, over Trump and his vice presidential candidate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
“Of course, we have many honest, ideological disagreements with Vice President Harris and Governor Walz,” the Republicans wrote, noting the importance of a handful of battleground states that proved crucial to Democrat Joe Biden’s narrow margin of victory in 2020. “That is to be expected. The alternative, however, is simply untenable.”
Signers include Reed Galen, who worked for the George W. Bush and McCain campaigns and co-founded the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project, and Olivia Troye, a former George W. Bush aide and national security adviser to Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence. The roles represented range from chief of staff to intern.
“Another four years of Donald Trump’s chaotic leadership,” the signatories note, “this time focused on advancing the dangerous goals of Project 2025, will harm real, everyday people and weaken our hallowed institutions.” The letter goes on to warn that “broad, democratic movements will be irreparably endangered as Trump and his acolyte J.D. Vance kowtow to dictators like Vladimir Putin while turning their backs on our allies.”
In a statement, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung called the letter “hilarious because no one knows who these people are.”
“They would rather watch the country burn than see President Trump successfully return to the White House to ‘Make America Great Again,’” Cheung added.
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