On Thursday, 73 former national security officials from the administrations of Republicans Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump formed a new group to endorse the former vice president. They also issued a 10-point indictment of Trump.
“We are profoundly concerned about our nation’s security and standing in the world under the leadership of Donald Trump. The President has demonstrated that he is dangerously unfit to serve another term,” their website reads.
The group criticized Trump for damaging America’s role as a world leader, for soliciting foreign influence and undermining confidence in U.S. elections and for vilifying immigrants. They also said that he has “aligned himself with dictators” and has “dishonored the office of the presidency.”
Notable signatories of the statement include General Michael Hayden, the former director of the CIA and the National Security Agency (NSA); William Webster, the former chief of both the CIA and FBI; and John Negroponte, the first director of National Intelligence.
Four former Trump administration officials—Department of Homeland Security Chief of Staff Miles Taylor, former DHS Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Neumann, former general counsel of the Peace Corps Robert Shanks and former general counsel of DHS John Mitnick—also signed the statement.
Newsweek reached out to both the Biden and Trump campaigns for comment on the group but did not receive a response prior to publication.
The group, called Former Republican National Security Officials for Biden, is one of a number of conservative organizations opposing Trump’s campaign for a second term. The Lincoln Project, another anti-Trump Republican group, has already spent millions on ad buys attacking the president and lifting Biden. The Former Republican National Security Officials is also planning a six-figure social media campaign in swing states to make the case that national security can’t take four more years of Trump.
“While we—like all Americans—had hoped that Donald Trump would govern wisely, he has disappointed millions of voters who put their faith in him and has demonstrated that he is dangerously unfit to serve another term,” the group said in a partial statement. The group’s full statement will appear in The Wall Street Journal on Friday.
“In contrast,” the statement reads, “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.”
