More than 200 Republicans who served under former President George W. Bush, the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) penned an open letter on Monday endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
The group of Republican leaders, which included several aides to former President George H. W. Bush, had been trying to rally voters against former President Donald Trump in 2020. In the letter, they specifically singled out “moderate Republicans and conservative independents” for their votes for Harris.
“Four years ago, former colleagues of President George W. Bush, the late Senator John McCain and then-Governor Mitt Romney came together to warn Republicans that President Trump's reelection would be a disaster for our country. In that declaration, we stated the plain truth, each predicting that four more years of President Trump in office would irreparably damage our beloved democracy.” The letter reads as follows: USA Today reported on Monday.
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At left, Sen. John McCain and former Governor Mitt Romney speak at a campaign rally in 2008. (Photo by Joe Raedl/Getty Images)
“Today, we reunite with former President George H. W. Bush alumni to reinforce our 2020 statement and jointly declare that for the first time, we will be voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz in November,” the letter continued. “Of course, we have many honest ideological disagreements with VP Harris and Governor Walz, and that is natural, but any alternative is simply unacceptable.”
Monday's major endorsement by Republicans follows another endorsement announced over the weekend by 12 Republican White House lawyers who served under former presidents Ronald Reagan and Bush. As with Monday's endorsement, the Republicans argued that a return to the Trump administration would “threaten our democracy and undermine the rule of law.”
Monday's letter was signed by about 240 people. It describes Trump's leadership as “chaotic” and suggests he wants to advance the goals of Project 2025, a blueprint for a Republican administration. But Trump has repeatedly sought to distance himself from the presidential transition plan, including during a recent visit to the southern border.
“They have been told officially, legally, in every way possible that they have nothing to do with Project 25,” Trump said. According to NPR. “They know it, but they still bring it up. They bring up everything they can bring up, and all of it was a lie.”
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Meanwhile, a letter of support on Monday called Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, “[ing]”We oppose dictators like Russian President Putin and turn our backs on our American allies.”
“This will not be tolerated,” the officials wrote.
“Thanks to exit polls and voter data, we now know that it was moderate Republicans and conservative independents in key battleground states who ultimately carried Joe Biden to the presidency,” the open letter concluded. “We heartily call on our friends, colleagues, neighbors and family to once again take a courageous stance and vote for leaders who will strive for agreement rather than chaos, unity rather than division, and who will make our country and our children proud.”
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris (Getty Images)
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In response to the letter, Trump campaign communications director Stephen Chang said, “The crazy thing is that no one knows who these people are. They would rather see the country burn than see President Trump safely return to the White House and Make America Great Again.”
