More than 200 former Bush, McCain and Romney staffers endorse Harris

Washington — More than 200 Republicans who worked for former President George H.W. Bush, former President George W. Bush, Sen. John McCain and Sen. Mitt Romney endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, saying democracy would be “irreparably jeopardized” by another Trump administration. 

“We have plenty of honest, ideological disagreements with Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz. That’s to be expected. The alternative, however, is simply untenable,” said the letter, which was first reported by USA Today. 

The group, which put out a similar letter in 2020, said another four years of former President Donald Trump’s “chaotic leadership” would “hurt real, everyday people and weaken our sacred institutions.” 

They urged moderate Republicans and independents in battleground states who helped elect President Biden “to take a brave stand once more.” 

The announcement follows speeches from several Republicans at last week’s Democratic National Convention, in which they excoriated Trump’s leadership and personality. 

Stephanie Grisham, who was one of Trump’s press secretaries and a top aide to Melania Trump, said Harris “has my vote.” Grisham said Trump has “no empathy, no morals and no fidelity to the truth.” She said Trump calls his supporters “basement dwellers” behind closed doors. 

Olivia Troye, who served as an adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, said Trump wants to sow doubt and division “because it’s the only way he wins.” 

“You’re not voting for a Democrat. You’re voting for democracy,” Troye said. “You’re not betraying our party. You’re standing up for our country.” 

Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger called Trump “a weak man pretending to be strong” and said his “only purpose is himself.” Of Harris, he said, she “shares my allegiance to the rule of law, the Constitution, and democracy,” and “whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison with those fundamental matters of principle, of decency, of fidelity to this nation.”