Republican Testimonials

  • These are quotes from Republicans who know Trump well.

  • They are the "best people" Trump hired or appointed.

  • Many are life-long Republicans.

  • Many quit or finished their term; They aren't disgruntled employees.

 

 

13 former Trump Administration officials wrote a letter stating, "We are all lifelong Republicans who served our country. However, there are moments in history where it becomes necessary to put country over party. We have witnessed, up close & personal, how Donald Trump operates & what he is capable of: Donald Trump is increasingly unstable, unfit to serve, & his 2nd term would be more dangerous. Those who once tried to prevent Donald Trump from his worst impulses will no longer be there to rein him in."

 

William Barr
Attorney General
Trump is "a consummate narcissist who constantly engages in reckless conduct that puts his political followers at risk & the conservative & Republican agenda at risk." "Trump knew he had lost the 2020 election, despite his claims that the race was stolen from him." "Voting for Trump is playing Russian roulette with the country. He shouldn’t be anywhere near the Oval Office. I strongly oppose Trump for the nomination & will not endorse Trump."

 

John Bolton

National Security Adviser

"I believe (foreign leaders) think he is a laughing fool." "There will be "celebrations in the Kremlin" if Trump is re-elected. "Donald Trump wants Americans to treat him like North Koreans treat Kim Jong Un." "Trump’s not fit to be president. He doesn’t have a conservative philosophy. He follows his own personal interest, & that’s not what you need in a president.”

 

Tom Bossert

Homeland Security Adviser

"The President undermined American Democracy baselessly for months. As a result, he’s culpable for this siege, & an utter disgrace."

 

Elaine Chao

Transportation Secretary (resigned)

"At a particular point the events were such that it was impossible for me to continue, given my personal values & my philosophy."

 

Chris Christie

Presidential Transition Vice-Chairman

"Someone who I would argue now is just out for himself.”

 

Dan Coats

Director of National Intelligence

"He doesn’t know the difference between the truth & a lie." Said he will back Pence in the upcoming election, not Trump.

 

Ty Cobb

Trump's lawyer

"Trump relentlessly puts forth claims that are not true." "He has never cared about America, its citizens, its future or anything but himself. In fact, as history well shows from his divisive lies, as well as from his unrestrained contempt for the rule of law & his related crimes, his conduct & mere existence have hastened the demise of democracy & of the nation.” America’s adversaries & allies “both recognize that even his potential reelection diminishes America on the world stage & ensures continued acceleration of the domestic decline we are currently enduring. If that re-election actually happens, the consequences will extinguish what, if anything, remains of the American Dream.” "I’ll grudgingly vote for Biden."

 

Michael Cohen

Trump's personal lawyer for over 12 years

"He is a racist. He is a conman. He is a cheat.” "I’m talking about a man who declares himself brilliant but directed me to threaten his high school, his colleges, & the College Board to never release his grades or SAT scores." "Donald’s an idiot." "I have never asked for, nor would I accept, a pardon from President Trump." He warned that Project 2025 "could fundamentally alter the structure of the federal government. It could lead to a dangerous concentration of power in the executive branch—that would be Trump if he wins in 2024—undermining the entire checks & balances that are essential in our Democracy."

 

Kelly Craft

US Ambassador to the UN

She supports Trump's rivals in the 2024 presidential election, not Trump.

 

Betsy DeVos

Secretary of Education (resigned)

"When I saw what was happening on January 6 & didn’t see the president step in & do what he could have done to turn it back or slow it down or really address the situation, it was just obvious to me that I couldn’t continue."

 

Mark Esper

Secretary of Defense, Army Lt Colonel

Trump is "unprincipled," "petty," "dangerous," & prone to "outright fabrications." "I think he’s unfit for office. He puts himself before country. His actions are all about him & not about the country. And then, of course, I believe he has integrity & character issues as well." "There’s no way” I’ll support Trump in November. Trump "tarnished our Democracy” & “is a threat to Democracy.”

 

Alyssa Farah Griffin

WH Director of Strategic Communications, Assistant to the President

"I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump this year. Not just from keeping faith with the Constitution on that day, but also, with a commitment to fiscal responsibility, a commitment to the sanctity of life, a commitment to American leadership in the world."

 

Stephanie Grisham

Chief of Staff to the First Lady

Trump isn't "fit for the job," & "I think that he is erratic. I think that he can be delusional. I think that he is a narcissist & cares about himself 1st & foremost." "I am terrified of him running in 2024. And I do not want him to be our president again."

 

Nikki Haley

US Ambassador to the UN

The US will not “survive” another 4 years of Trump. She worried about whether Trump would follow the Constitution if he was elected to a 2nd term saying, “You always want to think someone will, but I don’t know. When you go & you talk about revenge, when you go & you talk about vindication, what does that mean?" "A terrible thing happened on January 6 & he called it a beautiful day." "Someone who continually disrespects the sacrifices of military families has no business being commander in chief." On 10/8/24, she confirmed, "Everything I said on the campaign trail, I stand by."

 

Cassidy Hutchinson

WH Aide

“Donald Trump is the most grave threat that we will face to our Democracy in our lifetime, & potentially in American history. If Donald Trump is elected president again in 2024, I do fear that it will be the last election where we're voting for democracy because, if he is elected again, I don't think we'll be voting under the same Constitution. Everybody should vote for Joe Biden if they want our democracy to survive.”

 

John Kelly

Chief of Staff, 4-Star Marine Corps General

Trump is "a person that has no idea what America stands for & has no idea what America is all about. A person who admires autocrats & murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, & the rule of law." Asked about a 2nd Trump term, Kelly said, "God help us!" "He's certainly an Authoritarian, admires people who are dictators, he definitely falls into the general definition of a Fascist, for sure."

 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Member of Trump's 2024 Campaign

Trump is "a terrible human being. The worse [sic.] president ever & barely human. He is probably a sociopath."

 

Omarosa Manigault Newman

WH Aide (resigned)

“Donald Trump, who would attack civil rights icons & professional athletes, who would go after grieving black widows, who would say there were good people on both sides, who endorsed an accused child molester; Donald Trump, & his decisions & his behavior, was harming the country. I could no longer be a part of this madness.”

 

Sarah Matthews

Deputy Press Secretary

Trump has a history of making "unhinged comments." Trump "helped incite a deadly insurrection on our nation's Capital. His continuation of pushing this lie that the election is stolen has made him wholly unfit to hold office ever again." "It’s mind-boggling how many members of his senior staff have denounced him. These are folks who saw him up close & personal. The American people should listen to what these folks are saying because it should be alarming that the people that Trump hired to work for him a 1st term are saying that he’s unfit to serve for a 2nd term." "I witnessed staff go to President Trump to try to get him to condemn the violence. For hours, Trump refused to do anything. He didn’t want to stop it." She believes Trump’s actions amounted to an attempted "coup." "We saw he didn’t go along with the peaceful transfer of power the 1st time, what makes you think he would go along with it if he were elected to a 2nd term & he would be willing to leave office?" "We can survive bad policy from a 2nd Biden administration, but I don’t think we can survive a 2nd Trump term, in terms of our Democracy."

 

James Mattis

Secretary of Defense, 4-Star Marine Corps General

"Donald Trump is the 1st president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people – does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us." "His use of the Presidency to destroy trust in our election & to poison our respect for fellow citizens has been enabled by pseudo political leaders whose names will live in infamy as profiles in cowardice."

 

H.R. McMaster

National Security Advisor General, Army Lt General

Trump incited Jan. 6 through ”sustained disinformation" & "spreading these unfounded conspiracy theories." He accused him of “anti-leadership” & “undermining rule of law."

 

Mark Milley

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 4-Star Army General

Trump is a "wannabe dictator." "We don't take an oath to a wanna be dictator. We take an oath to the Constitution, & we take an oath to the idea that is America—and we're willing to die to protect it." "The most dangerous person to this country" "A Fascist to the core."

 

Mick Mulvaney
Chief of Staff (resigned)

"I quit because I think he failed at being the president when we needed him to be that." "I am working hard to make sure that someone else is the nominee."

 

Mike Pence

Vice President

"Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States." "I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign."
 

Anthony Scaramucci

WH Director of Communications

Said he will "100%" be voting for Biden, & that Trump is a threat to American Democracy. "He's going to expand executive power. He has already said he's going after his adversaries using the Department of Justice. When someone's telling you they're going to flex & be a dictator on day one & go after their adversaries, this is against the 200-plus-year experiment of America." "He is the domestic terrorist of the 21st century."
 

Richard Spencer

Secretary of the Navy

"The president has very little understanding of what it means to be in the military, to fight ethically, or to be governed by a uniform set of rules & practices."

 

Rex Tillerson

Secretary of State

Trump is a "moron." Trump's "understanding of global events, his understanding of global history, his understanding of US history was really limited. It’s really hard to have a conversation with someone who doesn’t even understand the concept for why we’re talking about this.”

 

Olivia Troye

Homeland Security Advisor

"I witnessed firsthand how Donald Trump politicized disaster relief, leaving devastated Americans waiting for help. Leaders across the country & government were calling my office, desperate for action as Trump failed them in moments of crisis. Today, he's once again failing Americans by distorting the facts & spreading lies.”

 

J.D. Vance

VP Running Mate

Said about Trump, "I don’t like Trump himself" "My god what an idiot" "America’s Hitler" "Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office" "I think that he’s noxious & is leading the white working class to a very dark place."

,
 

 

 

Only 4 of 44 people who served in Trump's cabinet said he should be re-elected.

 

 

The number of officials publicly denouncing their former boss is unprecedented, as is the severity of their criticisms. Nothing close has happened in US history.

 

Republicans who publicly condemned or refused to endorse Donald Trump's 2024 Presidential campaign:


 

Executive Branch Officials:


George W. Bush - President, Governor of TX

Dick Cheney - Sec. of Defense, US Rep., Chief of Staff, Dep. Chief of Staff
Mike Pence - Vice President, Governor of IN, US Representative

 

Cabinet-Level Officials:


John Bolton - National Security Advisor, US Ambassador to the UN
Dan Coats - Director of National Intelligence, Senator
William Cohen - Secretary of Defense, Senator
John Danforth - US Ambassador to the UN, Senator
Mark Esper - Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Army
Alberto Gonzales - Attorney General
Chuck Hagel - Secretary of Defense (2013–2015), Senator
John F. Kelly - Chief of Staff, Secretary of Homeland Security
Ray LaHood - Secretary of Transportation, U.S. Representative

Ann Veneman - Secretary of Agriculture

 

Other Executive Branch Officials:

 

Robert D. Blackwill - US Ambassador to India
Ty Cobb - WH Special Counsel, Assistant US Attorney
Ashley Davis - WH Deputy Director of Management & Administration
Ronald Gidwitz - US Ambassador to EU, US Ambassador to Belgium, Chair of IL State Board of Ed
Alyssa Farah Griffin - WH Director of Strategic Communications, Press Secretary of Department of Defense, Press Secretary to the Vice President
Stephanie Grisham - WH Communications Director & WH Press Secretary
Michael E. Guest - US Ambassador to Romania
Cassidy Hutchinson - Executive assistant to the Chief of Staff
Bobbie Kilberg - Director of the Office of Public Liaison
Mary Kramer - US Ambassador to Barbados
Frank Lavin - US Ambassador to Singapore, WH Director of Political Affairs
John Lehman - Secretary of the Navy
Rosario Marin - Treasurer (2001–2003), Mayor
Sarah Matthews - Deputy WH Press Secretary
John McKay - US Attorney
H.R. McMaster - National Security Advisor
Harriet Miers - WH Counsel, WH Deputy Chief of Staff, WH Staff Secretary
Omarosa Manigault Newman - Communications Director
Elizabeth Neumann - DHS Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism & Threat Prevention, DHS Deputy Chief of Staff, Homeland Security Council
Karen Pence - Second Lady of US, First Lady of IN
Jeanne Phillips - US Ambassador to the OECD
Anthony Scaramucci - WH Communications Director
Marc Short - Chief of Staff to the Vice President
Richard V. Spencer - Secretary of the Navy
Miles Taylor - Chief of Staff of Department of Homeland Security
Jay Town - US Attorney
Olivia Troye - Homeland Security & Counterterrorism advisor


US Senators:

 

Bill Cassidy - also US Representative
Susan Collins

Jerry Moran - also US Representative

Lisa Murkowski
Mitt Romney - also Governor of MA
Todd Young - also US Representative

Rudy Boschwitz - also US Ambassador to the UN
Jeffrey Chiesa

Bob Corker
Jeff Flake - also US Representative

Cory Gardner - also US Representative
Judd Gregg - also Governor of NH

Gordon J. Humphrey
George LeMieux
Rob Portman - also Director of the Office of Management & Budget, US Representative, WH Director of Legislative Affairs
Alan Simpson
John E. Sununu - also US Representative
Pat Toomey - also US Representative

 

US Representatives:
 

David Joyce
Thomas Massie
Greg Pence
David Valadao

Gresham Barrett

John Boehner - also Speaker of the House

Mo Brooks

Susan Brooks

Rod Chandler
Liz Cheney

Tom Coleman

Barbara Comstock

Tom DeLay

Charlie Dent
Mike Gallagher
Anthony Gonzalez
Wayne Gilchrest
Jim Greenwood
Will Hurd

John Katko
Adam Kinzinger
John LeBoutillier
Mia Love
Susan Molinari
Jack Quinn
Tom Rice
Denver Riggleman
Paul Ryan - also Speaker of the House
Joe Scarborough
Claudine Schneider
Chris Shays
Peter Smith - also Lieutenant Governor of VT
Alan Steelman
David Trott
Fred Upton

Joe Walsh

 

J. Michael Luttig - US Court of Appeals, Assistant Attorney General

 

Governors:


Eric Holcomb - also Lieutenant Governor of IN
Phil Scott - also Lieutenant Governor of VT
Charlie Baker - MA
Jeb Bush - TX
Chris Christie - NJ
Jim Edgar - IL
Bill Haslam - TN
Larry Hogan - MD
Asa Hutchinson - AR, also Administrator of the DEA, US Representative
John Kasich - OH, also Chair of House Budget Committee, US Representative
Pat McCrory - NC
James G. Martin - NC
George Pataki - NY
Marc Racicot - MN, also Chair of RNC
Bruce Rauner - IL
Mark Sanford - SC, also US Representative
Arnold Schwarzenegger - CA
Bill Weld - MA
Christine Todd Whitman - NJ, also Administrator of the EPA

 

Other Statewide Elected Officials:


John Dougall - Auditor of UT, State Representative
Jeanette Nuñez - Lieutenant Governor of FL
Roby Smith - Treasurer of IA

Geoff Duncan - Lieutenant Governor of GA, State Representative
Adam Laxalt - Attorney General of NV
Bob Orr - NC Supreme Court justice
Corey Stapleton - Secretary of State of MT
Michael Steele - Lieutenant Governor of MA, Chair of the RNC
Cate Zeuske - Secretary of the Department of Revenue, Treasurer of WI, Deputy Secretary of Department of Administration, State Assemblywoman

 

State Legislators:

 

Robert Cowles - WI Senator

Becky Edwards - UT Representative
Peter Mills - ME Senator
Doug Coleman - AZ Representative, mayor
Paula Dockery - FL Senator, Representative
Susan Gerard - AZ Senator, Representative
Carlos Guillermo Smith - FL Senator, Representative
Deb Gullett - AZ Representative
Pete Hershberger - AZ Representative
Joel John - AZ Representative
Roger Katz - ME Senator
Steve May - AZ Representative
John S. McCollister - member of the NE Legislature
Peter Mills - ME Senator

Dale Schultz - WI Senate Majority Leader
Roberta Voss - AZ Representative
Bob Worsley - AZ Senator

 

Other State & Local Officials:


Manny Díaz Jr. - Education Commissioner FL, State Senator, State Representative
John Giles - Mayor of Mesa, AZ
Stephanie Kopelousos - Secretary of Transportation of FL
Joseph Ladapo - Surgeon General of FL
Daniel Rickenmann - Mayor of Columbia, SC

Mary Pat Christie - First Lady of NJ
Steve Laffey - Mayor of Cranston, RI

Shawn Reilly - Mayor of Waukesha, WI

 

Party Officials:

 

Michael Brodkorb - Deputy Chair of Republican Party of MN

Al Cardenas - FL Republican Party Chair
Jennifer Horn - NH Republican Party Chair
Jennifer Nassour - MA Republican Party Chair

Gary Reed - MI Republican Party Executive Director
Chip Saltsman - TN Republican Party Chair
Michael Steele - Lieutenant Governor of MD, Chair of the RNC
Amy Tarkanian - NV Republican Party Chair
Chris Vance - WA Republican Party Chair


Public Figures:
 

Barbara Bush - daughter of George W. Bush

George Conway - lawyer, husband of Kellyanne
S.E. Cupp - political commentator
Jenna Ellis - lawyer

Carly Fiorina - CEO of Hewlett-Packard
David Frum - political commentator
Nick Fuentes - political commentator & streamer
Robert Kagan - US State Department official, Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution
Sarah Longwell - political strategist
Meghan McCain - political commentator, daughter of John McCain
Ana Navarro - political commentator
Ramesh Ponnuru - political commentator
Harry E. Sloan - Chairman of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Eric Tanenblatt - Chief of Staff
Fred Trump III - nephew of Donald Trump
George Will - conservative columnist & political commentator


Organizations:

 

Alumni for America
Americans for Prosperity
The Bulwark
Haley Voters for Harris
National Review
New York Post
Republican Accountability
Republican Voters Against Trump
Republicans for the Rule of Law
The Lincoln Project

 

 

Never have so many members refused to endorse their party's nominee.