NEW YORK — Mark Esper, former Defense Secretary, said he is a threat to democracy. John Bolton, former national security adviser, said he is unfit to be president. Former Vice President Mike Pence did not support him and said they have profound differences.
As Donald Trump tries to become president again, former officials are strongly against him and are making dire predictions for the country and the rule of law if he wins.
This is a remarkable group of critics, unlike anything seen before in the modern era, as they witnessed firsthand his actions in office and the resulting chaos.
Sarah Matthews, a former Trump aide who testified before the House Jan. 6 committee, and others are warning about the threat he poses. She finds it surprising that many senior staff members have denounced him.
“These are individuals who saw him in action and his leadership style up close,” said Matthews.
“The American people should pay attention to what these individuals are saying because it is worrying that those who worked closely with Trump in his first term are saying he is not fit for a second term.”
However, the critics are in the minority. Republican lawmakers and officials across the party support Trump’s campaign, some reluctantly and some enthusiastically. Many aides and Cabinet officials who served under Trump are backing him for another term, as Trump’s campaign is keen to point out.
“The majority of the people who served in President Trump’s cabinet and administration, like most Americans, have strongly endorsed his candidacy to defeat Joe Biden and reclaim the White House,” said Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung.
Nevertheless, the Biden campaign is highlighting the criticism of former Trump officials in statements and social media posts, aiming to sway some Republican voters, including those who supported other candidates during the GOP primary, into not supporting his candidacy.
“Those who worked closely with Donald Trump at the highest levels of his administration believe he is too dangerous, too self-centered, and too extreme to lead our country again — we agree,” said Biden campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa.
In many ways, the division among former Trump officials is a continuation of his time in the White House. There was constant friction as Trump’s demands clashed with resistance from some officials and aides who rejected requests they viewed as misguided, unrealistic, and sometimes outright illegal. There were frequent firings and many resignations.
There was significant staff turnover, especially in the chaotic weeks after the 2020 election as Trump tried to overturn his loss to Biden. Trump called his supporters to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, and as his false claims of a stolen election became the rallying cry for his supporters who violently breached the U.S. Capitol, many people working in the administration resigned in protest, including Matthews.
Donald Trump tried to stay in office by pressuring Mike Pence to prevent Joe Biden from becoming president. Pence, as vice president, had to oversee the count of the Electoral College ballots on Jan. 6. Despite Trump's insistence, Pence did not have the authority to stop Biden from taking office. Pence had to leave the Senate chamber on Jan. 6 as rioters broke in and chanted “Hang Mike Pence!”
Pence recently stated that he cannot support Trump due to the events of Jan. 6 and other concerns, despite being proud of their previous achievements together.
Pence is not the only one in his stance.
Esper, who was fired by Trump days after the 2020 election, disagreed with the former president on various matters, including Trump's push to deploy military troops to address civil unrest following the killing of George Floyd by police in 2020.
During a recent interview on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher,” Esper reiterated his belief that Trump poses “a threat to democracy” and expressed deep concerns about the situation.
Esper remarked, “I won’t vote for Trump, but each time he does something extreme, it makes me more inclined to vote for Biden, and that's where I stand.”
Among the most vocal critics of Trump are former White House aides, particularly those who testified about the Jan. 6 attack and Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.
This group includes Matthews, former White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows. They have given several interviews in the past few months opposing their former boss.
Griffin told ABC in December, “Ultimately, a second Trump term could spell the end of American democracy as we know it, and I don't say that lightly.”
John Kelly, Trump’s former chief of staff, had a falling-out with Trump as well. In a lengthy statement to CNN in October, Kelly described Trump as “someone who respects autocrats and murderous dictators” and “has nothing but disdain for our democratic institutions, our Constitution and the rule of law.”
Olivia Troye, a former adviser to Pence who left the White House in 2020, and former press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who resigned on Jan. 6, are outspoken critics who admitted they did not vote for Trump in 2020.
Even Bill Barr, Trump’s former attorney general, has called Trump “a consummate narcissist” who “regularly engages in risky behavior that endangers his political followers and the conservative and Republican agenda.”
However, the number of former Trump officials opposing his bid is significantly smaller than those who support him.
Linda McMahon, who led the Small Business Administration under Trump, is co-chairing a major fundraiser for the former president in Florida on Saturday, along with former Trump Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
McMahon also serves as the chair of the board of The America First Policy Institute, which is filled with supportive former Trump officials and has been called an “administration in waiting” for a potential second Trump term.
Brooke Rollins, who used to work for Trump, leads the institute. Also involved are Pence’s national security adviser and retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, as well as former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Trump’s U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer, and former National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow.
Matthew Whitaker, who served as acting Attorney General, supported Trump in his campaign, as did former Housing Secretary Ben Carson, who referred to him as “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.”
Trump supporters also openly reject critics in the party.
Carmen McVane, who attended Trump’s rally in Green Bay, Wis., said that those who criticize Trump or do not endorse him are referred to as RINOs, or Republicans In Name Only, and she believes they will only aid Biden and Democrats.
“There’s a lot of RINOs who don’t do what they’re supposed to do,” said McVane. “It’s time for everyone to support who we have and go full force ahead.”
