Former anti-Trump Republicans, the so-called “Never Trumpers,” are now supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, who is seeking to move away from her progressive past and reposition herself as a moderate.
The Republican campaign for Harris officially launched on Sunday, with several former lawmakers joining the cause, including former Trump White House staffers Stephanie Grisham and Olivia Troy.
While the Trump campaign has focused on highlighting Harris’ progressive record during her time as California’s attorney general, the campaign has now shifted to portray her as a more moderate figure, distancing herself from her previous positions, while portraying former President Trump as an “extremist.”
Asked for comment, a Trump campaign spokesman said Trump’s “winning message of putting America First resonates with Americans of all backgrounds and is building the largest and most diverse political movement in history.”
“Kamala Harris is weak, failed and dangerously liberal. A vote for her is a vote for higher taxes, inflation, open borders and more war,” the Trump campaign said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Media suddenly rejects Kamala Harris’ “border czar” label
Logan warned that the public was so brainwashed that they would elect Harris president in November. (Getty Images)
In a campaign press release, Republican National Communications Director Austin Weatherford called Trump “toxic to Republicans who no longer believe that the party of Donald Trump represents their values and will vote against him again in November.”
“Donald Trump says he doesn’t want these voters, but Vice President Harris and our campaign are working overtime to win the support of Republicans who care about defending our democracy and restoring decency — all of which would be taken away if President Trump is re-elected,” Weatherford said.
Those who abandoned the Republican campaign to support Harris include a former governor. The nominees include Christine Todd Whitman, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who challenged Trump in the 2020 primary, former Reps. Adam Kinzinger, Jim Greenwood, Claudine Schneider, Tom Coleman, Denver Riggleman and another former Trump challenger, Joe Walsh.
“As Trump’s chief press secretary and one of the longest-serving members of his team, I saw firsthand how hard Trump went to stay in power, as he did on January 6th, and how easily he lied to the American people during his administration. While I don’t agree with Vice President Kamala Harris on everything, I know she will fight for our freedoms, protect our democracy, and represent America with honor and dignity on the world stage,” Grisham, Trump’s former White House press secretary, said in a statement.
Harris’ shift from tough-on-crime prosecutor to social justice advocate has faced scrutiny from conservative groups
Vice President Kamala Harris was tasked with addressing the root causes of mass migration from Latin America from the start of the Biden administration. (Kevin Mohat/Reuters)
“I am a proud Republican, but Donald Trump is unfit to lead our country,” Whitman said in a statement.
Former Washington state Republican chairman and state senator Chris Vance, Young Republican Reed Howard, who is backing Harris, and former Republican National Convention delegate Lina Shah are also supporters of Harris.
Harris courted the support of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party in a bid to gain traction in the 2019 presidential primary.
She dropped out of that campaign in December of that year, and just a few months later, in the summer of 2020, she further aligned herself with the new radical ideals promoted by the Democratic Party. George Floyd’s Death The Minneapolis shooting and the subsequent Black Lives Matter (BLM) anti-police demonstrations and riots that shook the entire United States.
In resurfaced footage that began airing in a campaign ad run by Republican Sen. David McCormick of Pennsylvania, Harris is seen on camera speaking out against fracking, saying she would “consider” abolishing ICE, calling extra police officers a “bad idea,” and discussing allowing felons to vote. Harris also says she supports a “mandatory buyback program” for guns and that private health insurance should be abolished, according to a New York Times summary of the ad.
Abortion and “free” education top issues for Harris supporters
Vice President Harris took over as Democratic leader and held a rally in West Allis, Wisconsin, on Tuesday afternoon, drawing a large crowd. (Fox News Digital)
On fracking, which is particularly important to the economy of Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in the 2024 presidential election, the Harris campaign shifted tack on Friday. A source from her reelection campaign told The Hill that she would not seek a ban on fracking if elected president.
This contrasts with what Harris told CNN during her 2020 presidential nomination campaign.
“There’s no question that I’m in favor of banning fracking,” Harris said at the time.
Click here to get the FOX News app
A Harris campaign official told The New York Times that campaign staff plan to paint Republicans who dig up Harris’s past statements about left-leaning views as exaggerating and lying about her record. The campaign also plans to highlight Harris’s work as a district attorney and attorney general in California and portray her as a candidate with deep ties to law enforcement, according to the Times.
Harris is entering one of the most crucial weeks of the presidential campaign so far, with her running mate due to be selected by Tuesday. She and her running mate will then travel to several battleground states to drum up voter support. The latest national and key battleground state polls have found that the race between Harris, who is running for Biden in the 2024 presidential election after growing pressure within the Democratic Party, and the former president is within the margin of error.
Fox News Digital’s Daniel Wallace contributed to this report.
