Over 140 Romney and McCain Alumni Show Their True Colors with Public Letters
Supporters of two Republican presidential candidates who failed to win the White House are lining up against the one who did.
A coterie of GOP NeverTrumpers culled from the ranks of campaign staffers who worked for Sen. John McCain of Arizona in his 2008 loss to former President Barack Obama and Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who lost to Obama in 2012, are encouraging Republicans to defect from the party and support Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
President Donald Trump sparred often with McCain prior to the senator’s death in 2018, and with Romney, who has made no secret of his distaste for the president.
A statement signed by 34 former Romney campaign aides posted on the website Romney4Biden .com says the U.S. needs “a president that’s laser focused on putting the nation’s needs ahead of his own” and that Biden fills that bill.
The screed says more about the group’s dislike of Trump than any policy positions of the former vice president.
“What unites us now is a deep conviction that four more years of a Trump presidency will morally bankrupt this country, irreparably damage our democracy, and permanently transform the Republican Party into a toxic personality cult,” the group said.
The former Romney aides said that some swallowed their doubts and voted for Trump in 2016 while others were “shocked that a party committed to the ideals of personal responsibility and patriotic duty would nominate an unhinged narcissist that routinely conflates loyalty to himself with love for country.”
“Since 2017, the results of that disastrous decision have been on full display for the world to see. Now, with a pandemic crippling our economy and strangling our national spirit, every corner of America is suffering at the hands of President Trump’s erratic, inept, self-absorbed governing style,” the group said.
The statement noted that the group often disagrees with Biden but said it has faith he “will marshal every resource at his disposal to quash this pandemic and take responsibility for protecting the health and livelihoods of hard-working Americans that are facing personal and financial ruin through no fault of their own.”
The group did not explain how that will be done.
The Romney staffers said they saw the 2012 GOP nominee as a man of “humility, service, and devotion to his family and fellow citizens.”
“We know Mitt and Joe share those same essential, presidential traits — traits that make Vice President Biden the clear choice to lead the United States through this perilous, uncertain time,” the group said.
Meanwhile, in a post on Medium signed by 115 former McCain campaign aides, they declared that “we are supporting his friend, Joe Biden.”
“Many of us disagree with the positions espoused by the Democratic ticket, but we are heartened by Joe Biden’s history of bipartisanship,” the post read.
Much like the Romney staffers, McCain’s former aides said one of Biden’s best features is that he is not Trump.
“Given the incumbent president’s lack of competent leadership, his efforts to aggravate rather than bridge divisions among Americans, and his failure to uphold American values, we believe the election of former Vice President Biden is clearly in the national interest,” the group said. “This is a cause worth the fighting for.”
Some pushed back against the statements.
Ex-staffers of former President George W. Bush have also issued a statement endorsing Biden over Trump.
All of these former Romney and McCain people coming out in support of Biden as if that’s supposed to mean something to republicans? Neither of those guys were/are popular on the right. It’s not a shock that they oppose Trump. Sorry @nytimes @thehill @CNN @washingtonpost who cares
— Jared, now in 3D (@GreyJammies) August 27, 2020
Part of the 3 or 4 percent of Republicans that don’t support Trump. These people are deeply embedded swamp dwellers who can’t get over the fact that they have now become irrelevant.
— ??Dandie?? (@realjimdandie) August 27, 2020
“More than 100 Establishment Insiders – former GWB, McCain and Romney staffers – are endorsing Joe Biden today,” Cari Kelemen tweeted. “They couldn’t have illustrated why Donald Trump is in the White House any more vividly, and why he will win re-election: Donald Trump is still an Outsider.”
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