Photo: Matt Rourke | Via Reuters

In a public letter, 111 former top Republican officials have put aside party loyalty for the sake of national security and the future of our democracy.

Republican Former National Security Leaders Statement of Support for Vice President Harris

We are former national security and foreign policy officials who served in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and/or Donald Trump, or as Republican Members of Congress. We have served in the White House, the Departments of Defense, Treasury, State, Justice, Homeland Security, Commerce, and other agencies and in Congress.

We believe that the President of the United States must be a principled, serious, and steady leader who can advance and defend American security and values, strengthen our alliances, and protect our democracy. We expect to disagree with Kamala Harris on many domestic and foreign policy issues, but we believe that she possesses the essential qualities to serve as President and Donald Trump does not. We therefore support her election to be President.

We firmly oppose the election of Donald Trump. As President, he promoted daily chaos in government, praised our enemies and undermined our allies, politicized the military and disparaged our veterans, prioritized his personal interest above American interests, and betrayed our values, democracy, and this country’s founding documents. In our view, by inciting the violent attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 and defending those who committed it, he has violated his oath of office and brought danger to our country. As former Vice President Pence has said “anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States.”

Donald Trump’s susceptibility to flattery and manipulation by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, unusual affinity for other authoritarian leaders, contempt for the norms of decent, ethical and lawful behavior, and chaotic national security decision-making are dangerous qualities – as many honorable Republican colleagues and military officers who served in senior national security positions in his administration have frequently testified. He is unfit to serve again as President, or indeed in any office of public trust.

Vice President Harris has demonstrated a commitment to upholding the ideals that define our nation freedom, democracy, and rule of law. Her experience as Attorney General of California and her leadership on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and as Vice President have helped prepare her to be President.

We are prepared to support her as President because she has:

• Consistently championed the rule of law, democracy, and our constitutional principles;
• Pledged to “ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world” and to honor and respect those who wear the uniform;
• Committed to sign the bipartisan Border Security package, drafted under the leadership of Republican Senator James Lankford and other Republicans, which would hire 1,500 new Customs and Border Protection personnel and provide more resources for law enforcement but was opposed by Donald Trump to avoid giving President Biden any political advantage;
• Supported a strong NATO to stand up to Russia and protect European and American security and been firm in her support of Ukraine;
• Declared her intention to ensure that the United States will meet the economic and military competition with China;
• Declared her intention to “always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself” and “to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists”;
• Demonstrated that she can engage in orderly national security decision-making, without the constant drama and Cabinet turnover of the Trump Administration; and
• Committed to appoint a Republican to her Cabinet in order to encourage a diversity of views and restore a measure of bipartisanship and comity to our domestic politics.

We appreciate that many Republicans prefer Donald Trump to Kamala Harris, for a variety of reasons. We recognize and do not disparage their potential concerns, including about some of the positions advocated by the left wing of the Democratic party. But any potential concerns pale in comparison to Donald Trump’s demonstrated chaotic and unethical behavior and disregard for our Republic’s time-tested principles of constitutional governance. His unpredictable nature is not the negotiating virtue he extols. To the contrary, in matters of national security, his demeanor invites equally erratic behavior from our adversaries, which irresponsibly threatens reckless and dangerous global consequences.

In short, Donald Trump cannot be trusted “to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic . . . and bear true faith and allegiance to the same. “We believe that Kamala Harris can, and we urge other Americans to join us in supporting her.

In nearly 250 years of U.S. history, when was the last time a statement like this was made?

Never!