More than 200 aides to four former Republican presidential candidates have endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris’ bid for the White House, warning that the idea of a second term for Republican nominee Donald Trump is “simply untenable” and “will hurt ordinary people.”
In an open letter, including USA Today In a report Monday, 238 people who worked for former President George H.W. Bush, his son, 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 Mr.me Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, against Mr. Trump and his vice presidential pick, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.
“Of course, we have many honest ideological disagreements with Vice President Harris and Governor Walz,” the signatories acknowledged, noting the importance of a handful of key states that proved crucial to Democrat Joe Biden’s narrow margin of victory in 2020. “That was predictable. The other choice, however, is simply untenable.”
PHOTO KEVIN LAMARQUE, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Tim Walz at the Democratic convention in Chicago on August 22, 2024.
The signatories include Reed Galen, a former George W. Bush and McCain campaign official who co-founded the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project, and Olivia Troye, a former Bush aide and homeland security adviser to Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence. The positions represented range from chief of staff to intern.
“Four more years of chaotic Donald Trump leadership,” the signatories warn, “this time focused on advancing the dangerous goals of Project 2025, will harm ordinary people and weaken our sacred institutions.”
The letter goes on to warn that “broad-based democratic movements will be irreparably compromised if Trump and his crony JD Vance bow to dictators like Vladimir Putin while turning their backs on our allies.”
PHOTO AL GOLDIS, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate
In a written statement, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung called the letter “hilarious, because no one knows who these people are.” “They would rather see the country burn than see President Trump successfully return to the White House to make America great again,” Cheung added.
Many of these same signatories also published a letter in 2020 supporting Joe Biden’s candidacy against Donald Trump.
Attracting support from across the political spectrum is a tactic used by both Mr. Trump and Mr.me Harris as Election Day approaches. Several Republicans, including Mesa, Arizona, Mayor John Giles, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham, have come out in support of Ms.me Harris at last week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
In recent days, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who recently suspended his independent bid for president, and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, both considered fringe members of the Democratic Party before they left office, have endorsed Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump campaign spokesman Brian Hughes said that Mr. Kennedy and Ms.me Gabbard had been added to the Trump-Vance transition team.