More than 100 former Republican officials, mostly those who worked in national security or previously in various GOP presidential administrations, have penned a letter endorsing Vice President Harris and warning about the dangers of a potential second Trump administration.
“We appreciate that many Republicans prefer Donald Trump to Kamala Harris, for a variety of reasons. We recognize and do not disparage their potential concerns,” the letter released Wednesday reads. “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.”
The signatories insisted in their letter that when it comes to diplomacy, the former president’s “unpredictable nature is not the negotiating virtue he extols.” It added that Trump’s demeanor “invites equally erratic behavior from our adversaries, which irresponsibly threatens reckless and dangerous global consequences.”
The Wednesday letter comes roughly three weeks after more than 200 former GOP officials, including people who worked for former President George W. Bush, the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, also came out in favor of a Harris presidency. The letter also comes shortly after former Vice President Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, both indicated they would be voting for Harris as well.
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John McCain, left, and Mitt Romney talk at a campaign rally in 2008. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The letter on Wednesday was primarily signed by officials who had previously worked in either one of the Bush administrations or under former President Reagan. However, some former Republican members of Congress, including Illinois’ Adam Kinzinger and Virginia’s Barbara Comstock, also signed the Wednesday letter.
In total, it boasted 111 signatures but did include at least two repeats from the August letter endorsing Harris. Another name appeared to be a third repeat from the August letter, but Fox News Digital could not confirm if it was the same person ahead of publication time. Meanwhile, there were also two signatories on the Wednesday letter who also signed the infamous October 2020 letter from dozens of intelligence community officials asserting that the Hunter Biden laptop story broken by the New York Post was “disinformation pushed by Russia.”
A Trump campaign spokesperson, Steven Cheung, slammed the Wednesday letter’s signatories, arguing they are “the same people who got our country into endless foreign wars and profited off of them while the American people suffered.”
“President Trump is the only president in the modern era not to get our country into any new wars,” Cheung said.
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George W. Bush and his father, George H.W. Bush (David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)
The letter on Wednesday pointed to several reasons why its signatories are supporting Harris for president. Among them were that Harris has “consistently championed the rule of law, democracy, and our constitutional principles.” The letter also said Harris has “pledged” to ensure the U.S. military will continue to be the most lethal fighting force in the world, and it highlighted her support for NATO, Israel and the bipartisan border security act that failed this year. The letter noted that Harris has pledged she will appoint a Republican to her Cabinet “in order to encourage a diversity of views and restore a measure of bipartisanship and comity to our domestic politics.”
On national security, the letter lauded Harris for what it described as her ability to “engage in orderly national security decision-making.” It added that a Harris presidency would likely be absent “the constant drama and Cabinet turnover of the Trump administration.”
However, during Harris’ tenure as vice president, she has come under scrutiny for creating a poor office culture and having a nearly 92% staff turnover rate.
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Meanwhile, the letter blasted Trump for cozying up to U.S. adversaries: “Donald Trump’s susceptibility to flattery and manipulation by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, unusual affinity for other authoritarian leaders, contempt for the norms of decent, ethical and lawful behavior, and chaotic national security decision-making are dangerous qualities.”
Then-President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are shown at their second summit meeting on Feb. 28, 2019, in Hanoi, Vietnam. (Vietnam News Agency/Handout/Getty Images)
On Monday, Trump surrogate Tulsi Gabbard praised Trump for the “tough work” he has done engaging with U.S. adversaries, which she insisted was a critical part of successful U.S. diplomacy.
“President Trump did in his last administration what President Obama refused to do, what President Biden refused to do, what Kamala Harris has made clear she refuses to do, which is to go out and do that tough work that a president and commander in chief has to do in diplomacy,” Gabbard said. “Not just hanging out with your friends and your allies and your partners, but actually going out and talking to your adversaries.”
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The Wednesday letter concluded by saying Trump could not be entrusted “to support and defend the Constitution” against foreign and domestic enemies alike. “We believe that Kamala Harris can, and we urge other Americans to join us in supporting her,” the letter said. It also said Trump should never be able to hold political office of any kind in the future.
Currently, the Harris campaign is making a concerted effort to target vulnerable Republican voters, including through paid media and grassroots-driven digital efforts. Harris campaign spokesperson Ian Sams recently told Fox News Digital that Harris “has Republican momentum right now.”
“We are proud of the bipartisan groundswell behind Vice President Harris,” Sams said. “And we will continue working every day to earn the support of Republican voters who want a president like her who still believes in patriotism, freedom, and our Constitution.”