More than 70 former national security officials who served under Republican administrations have endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, joining a wave of GOP voices throwing their support behind the former vice president.
The officials have served under President Trump and former Republican Presidents George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.
The group includes former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Taylor, who has gained attention in recent days for going public with his accounts of his interactions with Trump, as well as former CIA Director Michael Hayden and former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte.
“While we – like all Americans – had hoped that Donald Trump would govern wisely, he has disappointed millions of voters who put their faith in him and has demonstrated that he is dangerously unfit to serve another term,” the officials said in a statement.
Among numerous reasons why the group is backing Biden, they said Trump “undermined the rule of law” and “has disparaged our armed forces, intelligence agencies, and diplomats.”
The group said they “believe Joe Biden has the character, experience, and temperament to lead this nation.”
“While some of us hold policy positions that differ from those of Joe Biden and his party, the time to debate those policy differences will come later. For now, it is imperative that we stop Trump’s assault on our nation’s values and institutions and reinstate the moral foundations of our democracy,” they added.
Their letter comes as the Democratic National Convention this week has sought to highlight Republican support for Biden.
On Monday, the group Republican Voters Against Trump released an advertisement in which Taylor called Trump’s presidency “terrifying” and said that he felt compelled to vote for Biden this November “given what I experienced in the administration.”
The president lashed out in response, calling Taylor a “former DISGRUNTLED EMPLOYEE … who I do not know.” The former official responded by posting a picture of himself with Trump in the Oval Office.