House

Former GOP Michigan congressman says Trump is unfit for office

Former Michigan Rep. Dave Trott (R) called President Trump unfit for office and said, based on the president’s behavior, he would now consider voting for a Democrat.

“Frightening. That is the only word to describe Mark Bowden’s article. President Trump’s inability or unwillingness to follow normal decision-making protocols has created chaos in our foreign policy and put our country at risk,” Trott wrote in a letter to The Atlantic

The former congressman responded to an article published in The Atlantic in November titled “Top Military Officers Unload on Trump.” 

“The article also helped me with respect to the 2020 election,” Trott added. “I had been flummoxed. I will now have to consider voting for a Democrat.”  

The Republican called the president “psychologically, morally, intellectually, and emotionally unfit for office.” 

“We can only hope Congress impeaches and removes him so we have a choice between two adults in 2020,” he added. 

Trott expressed similar disapproval of Trump when he spoke to The New York Times in a story the newspaper published Sunday. He told the Times that after expressing concern about Trump privately, he was warned to “be ready for the barrage of tweets.” 

Trott decided not seek reelection in 2018. His seat was flipped by Rep. Haley Stevens (D). 

Trott told the Times if “he was still there and speaking out against Trump,” the president would have pressured House Republican leaders to punish him. 

Trott is one of several former Republican officials to speak out against Trump, but no sitting congressional Republicans have been as apt to come out against the president or express support for his removal. 

The House passed articles of impeachment earlier this month in a vote largely along party lines. No Republicans voted in favor of Trump’s impeachment. Former Republican Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) voted for the articles, but he left the party earlier this year when he announced he was in favor of Trump’s impeachment. 

Trump is expected to be acquitted in the Senate, where it would take two thirds of the chamber to vote him out. No Republicans in the GOP-controlled Senate have publicly expressed support for Trump’s removal.