Times up for Trump and his White House. Even many of his supporters have or are now turning on him. Today I want to remind those who once thought Trump would be a successful president of all the GOP leaders who've become ashamed of their support, their friendship, and the political GOP disasters of the guy in Washington. They didn't like him early in his campaign and many have been repulsed by his evil ways for 4 years. Increasingly some are now his critics who changed their minds after Trump got into the White House in 2016. Some are Republicans who called for Trump to quit the presidential race because of evil and/or incompetence, and increasingly today we hear growing outcries against the most corrupt politician in American history. Consider those described and/or quoted below.
• Marine General John Kelly, Trump’s former White House chief of staff, declared 4 days ago that Trump “is the most flawed person” he’s ever known. "The depths of his dishonesty is just astounding to me. The dishonesty, the transactional nature of every relationship, though it's more pathetic than anything else. He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life.” Kelly became a quiet Trump critic, serving in two top administrative posts. He is a retired U.S. Marine Corps four-star general who early on served as the Secretary of Homeland Security in the Trump administration, and later as White House Chief of Staff from July 2017 to January 2019. He labored hard to keep Trump coherent and sane in public pronouncements, especially on Twitter where Trump spends most of his time thinking he’s leading the free world. As a lifelong Republican, Kelly had his own controversial problems such as denigrating Muslims, ignoring White House staffers embroiled in cases of domestic abuse in their families, calling DACA children lazy Latinos, seemingly defending confederate leaders as “honorable” people, instead of acknowledging racism in the Deep South. Kelly had several business conflicts of interest during his tenure, much like his boss, Donald Trump, but not as corrupt. Gradually tensions grew between the two with Kelly finally admitting to a group of senators that the White House was “a miserable place to work.” I don’t think he was talking about floral arrangements in the kitchen. In 2020 when Trump unleashed troops and tear gas on citizens near the White House, Kelly said he would have “recommended against it,” adding “The idea that you would unleash American active-duty folks unless it's an extremist situation...these are civilian responsibilities, and we should be very, very careful before we contemplate sending in active-duty military.” In June 2020 Kelly clarified that Trump did not fire his General Jim Mattis, as the president had claimed, but that Mattis quit in disgust over Trump’s many failures. Kelly also alluded to deficiencies in Trump's character. “I think we need to look harder at who we elect,” adding, “I think we should look at people that are running for office & put them through the filter: What is their character like? What are their ethics?” Earlier this year, Kelly defended Col. Alexander Vindman’s testimony about Trump’s Ukrainian phone call while Director for European Affairs of the U.S. National Security Council. Kelly said that military ethics require one to report when hearing “an illegal order.” To him, Vindman was a military hero because he did what was right. He also ridiculed Trump’s incompetence in meetings with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, to abandon the country’s nuclear weapons program, noting they were hopeless. Instead, the dictator played with Trump’s naiveté. In February 2020 Kelly also criticized the president’s attacks on certain media outlets who he often accuses of being “fake news” and seeks to sideline or restrict access to the White House. He stated the U.S. needs a free press and he did not view the media as “the enemy of the people.” Kelly warned that “you have to be careful about what you are watching and reading because the media has taken sides. So if you only watch Fox News, because it’s reinforcing what you believe, you are not an informed citizen.” The implications of his close work with Trump in the White House, for good or bad, are quite clear.
• Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, who never supported Trump, told him to “step aside and let Mike Pence try.” He’s contradicted himself so many times but is now again criticizing Trump by hoping to save his Senate seat. So Trump is publicly attacking Sasse viciously in recent days.
• Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, who had previously endorsed Trump, rejected his “disrespectful, profane and demeaning” behavior.
• General Colin Powell, GOP member and former Secretary of State, a great and honest military hero, declared before Election Day 2016 that he was voting for Democrat Hillary Clinton. After witnessing Trump’s degradation of America’s Constitution, the rule of law, and ugly screaming words over his first term, Powell has recently explained his concerns regarding Trump as he's become so much worse, and now declares he will vote for Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, even agreeing to speak at the DNC convention.
• Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk called Trump a “malignant clown — unprepared and unfit to be president of the United States.”
• South Dakota Sen. John Thune was the first member of GOP congressional leadership to call for Trump to step aside.
• Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman said Trump should withdraw “for the good of the country.”
• Nevada Rep. Joe Heck, who is running for Nevada's open Senate seat, withdrew his support for Trump, and said the “American people deserve better.”
• Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, who has always been critical of Trump, said Trump is “wrong about his level of support” and needs to withdraw. Flake was the Mormon who voted his conscience the most often, and finally resigned his Senate seat to preserve his LDS values and also for the good of the country.
• Virginia Rep. Barbara Comstock called Trump's remarks “disgusting, vile, and disqualifying.”
• Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan said he would "support Governor Mike Pence for President” in 2016.
• Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who never backed Trump, said he needed to make the decision to step down. “I could not support his candidacy.” But she’s followed his wretched policies and is now facing an election disaster in 2020.
• Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner called Trump's “flaws ... beyond mere moral shortcomings.” He’s currently on the verge of political collapse. He won the 2016 race by about 2.5% statewide, eking out a win over then-incumbent Sen. Mark Udall (a great senator) by promising that “when my party is wrong, I’ll say it.” Only he never did admit the huge flow of evil from Trump’s cesspool. It now looks like the great former Gov. John Hickenlooper will grab the Colorado Senate seat next month on Nov. 3, helping to turn the Senate blue and taking down the most contemptible Senate leader in a century, the turtle-faced control freak, Mitch McConnell.
• Alabama Rep. Martha Roby said Trump needs “to step aside and allow a responsible, respectable Republican to lead the ticket”
• Missouri Rep. Ann Wagner, who withdrew her support for Trump 4 years ago, said she must “condemn the predatory and reprehensible comments.”
• Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis asked to be withdrawn from his agriculture advisory committee. Pence should be the nominee.
• South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard said “enough is enough.”
• Former GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina said Trump “does not represent me or my party.” She’s become an avid Biden-Harris supporter, pulling her weight as a high profile female former CEO of a major U.S. corporation, Hewlett-Packard.
• Nebraska Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, who previously said he would vote for Trump, said Mike Pence should have been the Republican nominee.
• Michigan Rep. Fred Upton, who refused to endorse Trump, said he needs to step down.
• Texas Rep. Will Hurd, who was in a tough re-election campaign and whose district includes a large swath of the Mexico border, said Trump should step aside for “a true conservative” to step in. Since then, Hurd has been a vocal GOP accuser against Trump’s crimes.
• Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam urged Trump to “step aside and let Gov. Mike Pence assume the role as the party's nominee.”
• Former New York Gov. George Pataki said “Enough! He needs to step down.”
• Arizona Senator John McCain withdrew his support for Trump, saying “Cindy and I will not vote for Donald Trump.” He said he would write in South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. Trump was so jealous of McCain’s stature as a Vietnam war hero, he criticized the great Senator even after his death. Fortunately, his widow, Cindy, & daughter, Meghan, have both condemned Trump & support the patriotic & ethical team of Dems Biden & Harris.
• New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte said she would write in Pence on her ballot.
• West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said the “appropriate next step may be for him to reexamine his candidacy.”
• Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said this was “enough” and Trump should “withdraw.”
• Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, who formally endorsed Trump, said “I can no longer support him.”
• Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval said he could “no longer support him as my party's nominee” in 2016.
• Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Trump “forfeited the right to be our party's nominee.”
• Florida Rep. Tom Rooney said he would fail his family if he supported Trump.
• Ohio Gov. John Kasich, ex-2016 contender, said it's clear that Trump “hasn't changed and has no interest in doing so.” I've always liked Kasich's level-headed view of politics.
• Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who wasn't supporting Trump before because of Trump calling his brother, George W. Bush a “liar” and engaging in vicious name-calling against Jeb himself. He called Trump's 2016 comments “reprehensible” and often criticized the candidate. None of the large Bush political family have supported Donald Trump, whether presidents or first ladies, as far as I’m aware.
• Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, who had previously endorsed Trump, said he would no longer vote for him.
• Nevada Rep. Crescent Hardy said he also would not “support the guy at the head of the ticket” in 2016.
• California Rep. Steve Knight, who never endorsed Trump, said his comments were “inexcusable” and that he could “not support” him.
• Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent, who had never supported Trump, said his actions were “disturbing.” He's been a vocal critic of Trump throughout his failing presidency, now saying instead of the disgusting Trump, he will support Joe Biden.
• California Rep. David G. Valadao called Trump's behavior “disgusting” and said he could not support him.
• New Jersey Rep. Frank LoBiondo said “I cannot support and will not vote for Donald Trump.”
• Minnesota Rep. Erik Paulsen, said Trump's words are “disgusting and offensive.”
• Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty called Trump “unsound, uninformed, unhinged and unfit.” Truer words were never uttered by a Republican leader.
• Michigan Rep. Justin Amash said “It's time for self-reflection from Trump and GOP leaders.”
• New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, under Gov. Chris Christie, told NBC News, saying she would “not be voting for Donald Trump.”
• Finally, Hollywood Bad Boy and former GOP California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Republicans should put country over party. Below are several quotes and humorous memes, plus a link to one of the hundreds of articles by Trump’s GOP critics who now embrace a degree of ethics and now feel guilt because they once hoped that by supporting Donald, he’d learn, listen and become smart.
Friends now’s the time to reverse the corruption of Trump, Inc, and replace it with a positive future America.