What Republicans Who Know Trump Best Have Said About Him

For the first time in modern history, a vice president has not supported the president he served under. Mike Pence said that he could not, “in good conscience,” support former President Trump, noting, “The American people deserve to know that President Trump asked me to put him over my oath to the Constitution. … Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.”

Republican former US defense secretary William Cohen said, ” Those who know Trump best respect him least. They have given us fair warning. Sarah Matthews, a former Trump aide who testified before the House Jan. 6 committee, said it’s “mind-boggling” how many members of his senior staff have denounced him. Sarah Matthews, a former Trump aide, said, “These are folks who saw him up close and personal and saw his leadership style,” She added that “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.” Statements by many other close associates of Trump support their assessments.

In an incredible rebuke, Trump’s longest-serving Chief of Staff, John Kelly, said that Former President Trump ‘met the general definition of fascist,” commends the loyalty of Hitler’s Nazi generals, and “prefers the dictator approach to government.” Kelly also said that working with Trump was difficult because the former president “didn’t respect the rule of law,” and that he “didn’t understand the concept of the Constitution.” 

His views are consistent with Trump saying that he would like to be a dictator on day one if elected, his praise for many world dictators, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping, and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. his sparking an insurrection at the US Capitol based on his false assertion that he won the 2020 US presidential election, and his urging of Vice President Pence not to certify the results of that election.

Significantly, 13 ex-Trump aides signed a letter backing Kelly’s views, saying Trump seeks “absolute, unchecked power.” The letter asserted, “The revelations General Kelly brought forward are disturbing and shocking. But because we know Trump and have worked for and alongside him, we were sadly not surprised by what General Kelly had to say.”

James Mattis, Trump’s former Secretary of Defense, called Trump “racist to the core,”  said he was doing “great and irreparable harm,” and makes a “mockery of our constitution.” He also said, “Trump was “the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people,” and that he instead “tries to divide us.” This is consistent with Trump’s frequently calling  s his political opponents an “enemy within.”

John Bolton, Trump’s former National Security Advisor, stated that Trump posed a “danger for the republic.” He also said, ” Trump’s support for Israel is not guaranteed in a second term, because Trump’s positions are made on the basis of what’s good for Donald Trump, not on some coherent theory of national security.” Regarding the revelations, of John Kelly above, Bolton said, “You can take what John says to the bank.”

Trump’s second secretary of defense, Mark Espey said, “I think he’s unfit for office. … He puts himself before country. His actions are all about him and not about the country. And then, of course, I believe he has integrity and character issues as well.”

Rex Tillerson, Trump’s secretary of state, called Trump “pretty undisciplined – doesn’t like to read, doesn’t read briefing reports,” and added: “His understanding of global events [and] his understanding of US history was really limited.”

Michael Cohen, Trump’s lawyer and fixer, called Trump “A cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator and a conman.”

Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to Trump’s chief of staff, said she was  “disgusted” by Trump’s role in the mob’s attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election. “It was unpatriotic. It was un-American. We were watching the Capitol building get defaced over a lie.”

Consistent with the above analyses, many additional Trump associates have rejected Trump, calling him unfit to serve as president, and urging fellow Republicans to vote for Harris.

In early August 2024, Kamala Harris’s campaign launched “Republicans for Harris” to target voters most likely to switch, especially those who backed Nikki Haley, Trump’s rival in the primaries,

As part of that effort, 200 Republicans who worked for President George W Bush and the former presidential candidates Senators Mitt Romney and John McCain, released an open letter supporting Harris and her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz. 

The letter stated, “Of course, we have plenty of honest, ideological disagreements with Vice President Harris and Governor Walz. That’s to be expected. The alternative, however, is simply untenable.”

“At home, another four years of Donald Trump’s chaotic leadership, this time focused on advancing the dangerous goals of Project 2025, will hurt real, everyday people and weaken our sacred institutions. Abroad, democratic movements will be irreparably jeopardized as Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance kowtow, to dictators like Vladimir Putin, while turning their backs on our allies. We can’t let that happen.”

Given the above and much more, one has to agree with Trump’s former Attorney General Bill Barr’s view that “Donald Trump shouldn’t be allowed near the Oval Office.“