This series tracks Republicans and Trump associates who have now joined the resistance against him. Read part one here and part two here. Click on name for the source of the quote.
19. Christine Todd Whitman, former Republican governor of New Jersey, head of the EPA under George W Bush
“President Trump has seemed to deny any accountability for anything ... If a president is deemed to be above the law, that no one can hold him accountable, then I believe that undermines our basic values as a nation and puts us in a very dangerous position.”
20. Donald B Ayer, deputy attorney general under George H W Bush
“The Department of Justice is actively engaged on many fronts in helping realize Trump’s stated goal of being able to do whatever he wants, free from interference from any branch of government.”
21. Justin Amash, former Republican congressman, now Independent
“Mueller’s report reveals that President Trump engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment ... In fact, Mueller’s report identifies multiple examples of conduct satisfying all the elements of obstruction of justice, and undoubtedly any person who is not the president of the United States would be indicted based on such evidence.”
22. Rick Wilson, campaign director for George W H Bush, founder of the Lincoln Project
“Donald Trump isn’t a Republican, he isn’t a conservative, and he isn’t a patriot. He lacks even the most fundamental patriotic principles to put the country before himself. Our goal is to defeat Donald Trump and to eliminate Trumpism in our political space. And that means we’re going to go after some of the enablers of Donald Trump who have made choices to support him even though it’s hurt their states and violated their oath of office.”
23. Steve Schmidt, Republican strategist, director of John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign
"Donald Trump has been the worst president this country has ever had. And I don't say that hyperbolically. He is. It's just astonishing that this man is president. The man, the con man, from New York City ... the man who said he would make the country great again. He has brought death, suffering, and economic collapse on truly an epic scale.”
24. Lee M Thomas, EPA administrator under President Ronald Reagan,
"Does the Agency [EPA under Trump] have adequate resources with the strong scientific capability it needs? Is it coordinating actively with the broad scientific community on research surrounding environmental issues? I don't think they do.”
25. William K. Reilly, EPA administrator under George H W Bush
"Our country continues to face serious challenges in protecting public health and natural resources. These challenges require an EPA that is strong, credible and sufficiently resourced to conduct and sponsor timely research and risk assessments.”
26. Jay from Pennsylvania
“I voted for Donald Trump in 2016. But I won’t vote for him again. I don’t like being lied to, especially by the president of the United States. It’s disrespectful to all Americans that he expects us to believe his outrageous claims. The money collected by the trade war tariffs was paid for by Americans, not China.”
27. Max Boot, campaign advisor to Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio
“Three months ago — all the way back on April 5 — I proclaimed Donald Trump the worst president ever. Oh, how innocent I was. Sure, I knew he was bad. But not this bad ... But now, with the commutation of Roger Stone’s well-deserved prison sentence and so many other vile acts, he has disgraced the nation’s highest office as no previous occupant has come close to doing.”
To be continued ... Readers’ tips in the comments are invited.