Democrats can be expected to oppose Donald Trump’s candidacy for president in 2024. But longtime
leading Republicans, like Senator and former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, former New
Jersey Governors Chris Christie and Christine Todd Whitman, and Representatives Liz Cheney and
Adam Kinzinger, have said unequivocally that they will not support him in 2024. And an extraordinary
number of key officials and former military leaders who served in his administration and saw him up
close have expressed the view that he is unfit for office, although, shockingly, a small number may end
up endorsing him this year. Here’s a partial list of those officials and leaders in their own words….
Former Vice President Mike Pence
Refuses to endorse Trump because of “profound differences,” including on the VP’s “constitutional duties.”
Former Chief of Staff John Kelly
Trump has “nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our constitution and our rule of law.”
Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney
“I quit because I think Trump failed at being the president when we needed him to be that.”
Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper
“He’s a threat to democracy as we know it.”
Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis
Trump used his position to “destroy trust in our election and to poison our respect for fellow citizens.”
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
“Trump’s understanding of global events and 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.”
Former National Security Advisor John Bolton
“The stunning thing about the number of senior Trump administration officials who’ve campaigned against him I
think proves that it really is Trump’s flawed character, lack of knowledge, lack of philosophy, lack of fitness that
has them concerned.”
Former National Security Advisor Gen. H.R. McMaster
Trump incited January 6 through “sustained disinformation… spreading these unfounded conspiracy theories.”
Former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao
“January 6 has deeply troubled me in a way I cannot set aside. I believe in the peaceful transfer of power. I
believe in democracy.”
Former Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews
“I witnessed staff go to President Trump [on January 6] to try to get him to condemn the violence…For hours,
Trump refused to do anything. He didn’t want to stop it…We saw he didn’t go along with the peaceful transfer
of power the first time, what makes you think he would go along with it if he were elected to a second term, and
he would be willing to leave office?”
Former Assistant to former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Cassidy Hutchinson
“Donald Trump is the most grave threat that we will face to our democracy in our lifetime, and potentially in
American history.”
Former Chief of Staff of the Department of Homeland Security Miles Taylor
“First, he’s more unhinged. Second, he’s less restrained by semi-rational advisers, most of whom are gone.
And third, he has vastly more command and influence over his followers and the GOP than ever before. Add
those up. The sum is one of the greatest dangers to America in the modern age.”
Former White House Communications Director Stephanie Grisham
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 and cares about himself first and foremost. And I do not want him to be our president again.”
Former White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah Griffin
Trump “is a threat to democracy, and I will never support him.”
Former White House Special Counsel Ty Cobb
Trump has “unrestrained contempt for the rule of law and his related crimes, his conduct and mere existence
have hastened the demise of democracy and of the nation.”
Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci
“Trump is the domestic terrorist of the 21st century.”
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
“It’s time to elect serious, thoughtful leaders who don’t denigrate America, spend all their time thinking about
Twitter, and throw out whoppers. It’s not the moment for celebrity.”
Former Attorney General Bill Barr
“Trump is a consummate narcissist who constantly engages in reckless conduct. He will always put his own
interests and gratifying his own ego ahead of everything else, including the country’s interest.”
Former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley
“Trump said that he wouldn’t defend NATO, he’d encourage Putin to invade NATO countries. He’s siding with a
thug who kills his political opponents, arrests American journalist, who hates America. He puts our allies and
military in danger.”
Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley
“Trump had gone into a serious mental decline in the aftermath of the election, now all but manic, screaming at
officials and constructing his own alternate reality about endless election conspiracies.”
Former Navy Secretary Richard Spencer
“Trump has very little understanding of what it means to be in the military, to fight ethically or to be governed by
the uniform set of rules and practices.”
