More than 70 former GOP national security officials wrote an open letter backing Biden, calling Trump corrupt and unfit to lead
insider@insider.com (Bill Bostock)
More than 70 former Republican national-security officials have publicly endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, saying President Donald Trump is unfit to lead.
The Defending Democracy Together alliance on Thursday published an open letter, which included a 10-point list of grievances.
Amongst the signatories are former CIA director Michael Hayden, former FBI and CIA chief William Webster, former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte, and former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
"We are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him," the group wrote.
As the November presidential election looms, Trump is increasingly losing the support of Republican officials. A growing number of party heavyweights have said they will vote Biden.
"We are profoundly concerned about the course of our nation under the leadership of Donald Trump," the letter, published Thursday by the conservative advocacy organization Defending Democracy Together, said.
"Trump has demonstrated that he lacks the character and competence to lead this nation and has engaged in corrupt behavior that renders him unfit to serve as President."
Amongst the signatories โ who served during the Reagan, George W. Bush, George H. W. Bush, and Trump administrations โ are former CIA director Michael Hayden, former FBI and CIA director William Webster, former Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte, and former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
"We are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him," the authors said.
"We believe Joe Biden has the character, experience, and temperament to lead this nation. We believe he will restore the dignity of the presidency, bring Americans together, reassert America's role as a global leader, and inspire our nation to live up to its ideals."
Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who ran as a Republican in the 2016 presidential election, told this week's Democratic National Convention that he was backing Biden.
"In normal times, something like this would probably never happen," the lifelong Republican said of his appearance at the DNC.
Miles Taylor, a former Trump administration official, also said it was time "to put country over party."
Colin Powell, former Secretary of State during George W. Bush's presidency, said in June he was voting for Biden this year because Trump "lies about things."
A number of Republican governors have also held regular late-night conference calls to complain about Trump, as Business Insider's Tom Porter previously reported.
One of Trump's top allies, Sen. Lindsey Graham, has also broken with Trump on public-health issues in recent months and praised Biden. In a campaign ad for the Republican Voters Against Trump group last month, Graham called the president "a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot."
Opposition to Trump in the Republican Party has been vocal and organized.
A number of anti-Trump groups have sprung up within conservative circles. They include Republican Voters Against Trump, the Lincoln Project, and 43 Alumni for Biden.
Michael Gordon, a longtime Democratic strategist, wrote in a June op-ed for Business Insider that Republican Party officials had been reluctant to speak out until now.
"This year, of course, has brought us new depths in the Trump presidency, and the volume of recriminations has begun to increase," he wrote.
