By MICHELLE L. PRICE (Associated Press)
NEW YORK (AP) — Mark Esper, the former Defense Secretary, has called him a “threat to democracy.” John Bolton, the former national security adviser, has stated he is “unfit to be president.” And the former Vice President Mike Pence has declined to endorse him, citing “profound differences.”
As Donald Trump is seeking the presidency for a third time, but he is being strongly opposed by a vocal group of former officials who are warning against his return to power and making gloomy predictions for the country and the rule of law if his campaign is successful.
It’s a notable group of critics, especially because they are people who saw firsthand his behavior in office and the chaos that followed.
Sarah Matthews, a former Trump aide who testified before the House Jan. 6 committee and is among those warning about the threat he poses, said it’s “mind-boggling” how many members of his senior staff have denounced him.
“These are folks who saw him up close and personal and saw his leadership style,” Matthews said.
“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 first term are saying that he’s unfit to serve for a second term.”
Yet the critics remain a distinct minority. Republican lawmakers and officials across the party have endorsed Trump’s bid — some begrudgingly, others with fervor and enthusiasm. Many aides and Cabinet officials who served under Trump are onboard for another term., something Trump’s campaign is quick to highlight.
“The majority of the people who served in President Trump’s cabinet and in his administration, like the majority of Americans, have overwhelmingly endorsed his candidacy to beat Crooked Joe Biden and take back the White House,” said Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung.
Still, the Biden campaign has emphasized the criticism from former Trump officials in statements and social media posts, hoping to convince at least some Republican voters — including those who backed other candidates during the GOP primary — that they cannot support his candidacy.
“Those who worked with Donald Trump at the most senior levels of his administration believe he is too dangerous, too selfish and too extreme to ever lead our country again — we agree,” said Biden campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa.
In many ways, the divide among former Trump officials is a continuation of his time in the White House. Conflict was constant as Trump’s demands clashed with resistance from some officials and aides who refused requests that they found misguided, unrealistic and, at times, flatly illegal. Firings were frequent. Many quit.
Staff upheaval was particularly intense in the chaotic weeks after the 2020 election as Trump worked to overturn his election loss to Biden. Trump summoned supporters to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, as his falsehoods about a stolen election became the rallying cry for supporters who violently breached the U.S. Capitol. Many Some people working in the government quit in disagreement, including Matthews.
Trump attempted to stay in office by pressuring Pence, who was responsible for overseeing the count of the Electoral College votes on Jan. 6. Trump insisted that Pence should stop Biden from becoming president, a task he refused to do. Pence was in the Senate chamber on Jan. 6 when rioters attacked, chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” no power Pence had to flee was seen in the Senate chamber on Jan. 6 as rioters invaded, chanting for violence against him.
Pence recently said he couldn’t support Trump because of Jan. 6 and other issues, despite being proud of their accomplishments together.
And Pence is not alone.
Esper, who was fired by Trump after the 2020 election, clashed with the then-president over various issues, including Trump’s desire to deploy military troops after the killing of George Floyd by police in 2020.
In a recent interview in an appearance on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher,” Esper repeated a warning that Trump is “a threat to democracy” and added, “I think there’s a lot to be concerned about.”
“There’s no way I’ll vote for Trump, but every day that Trump does something crazy, the door to voting for Biden opens a little bit more, and that’s where I’m at,” Esper said.
Among Trump’s most vocal critics are former aides who worked closely with him in the White House, especially a trio who gained prominence testifying about the Jan. 6 attack and Trump’s attempt to overturn the election.
The group includes Matthews, former Trump White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin and Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows. They have given a series of interviews in recent months opposing their former boss.
“Fundamentally, a second Trump term could mean the end of American democracy as we know it, and I don’t say that lightly,” Griffin told ABC in December.
John Kelly, Trump’s former chief of staff, had his own long falling-out with Trump. Kelly, in a lengthy October statement to CNN, described Trump as “a person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators” and “has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.”
Olivia Troye, a former Pence adviser who left the White House in 2020, and former press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who resigned Jan. 6, are both outspoken critics who said they didn’t vote for Trump in 2020.
Even Bill Barr, Trump’s former attorney general who has not ruled out voting for him again, has referred to Trump as “a consummate narcissist” who “constantly engages in reckless conduct that puts his political followers at risk and the conservative and Republican agenda at risk.”
Still, the ranks of former Trump officials opposing his bid are greatly outnumbered by those who are supportive.
Linda McMahon, who headed the Small Business Administration under Trump, is co-chairing a major fundraiser for the former president on Saturday in Florida, along with former Trump Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
McMahon is also chair of the board of The America First Policy Institute, which is packed with supportive former Trump officials and has been described as an “administration in waiting” for a second Trump term.
The organization is led by Brooke Rollins, who was Trump’s former domestic policy chief. It also includes Pence’s national security adviser and retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, along with former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Trump’s U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer, and former National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow as its chairs.
Matthew Whitaker, the former acting Attorney General, has supported Trump publicly, as has former Housing Secretary Ben Carson, who called him “a friend of America.”
Trump also has the support of former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell, former Interior Secretary and Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, and Russell Vought, who led Trump’s Office of Management and Budget.
Vought stated in a post on X that Trump is “the only person I trust to take a wrecking ball to the Deep State.”
Supporters of Trump are also quick to disregard critics within the party.
At Trump’s rally Tuesday in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Carmen McVane mentioned that those who speak negatively against Trump or refuse to endorse are considered as RINOs, meaning Republicans In Name Only, and will only help Biden and Democrats.
“There’s a lot of RINOs who don’t do what they’re supposed to do,” McVane said. “It’s time for everyone to back who we have and go full force ahead.”
