This series lists Trump’s associates and stalwart Republicans urging his ousting. And these were before Joe Biden’s speech. How many more will there be now?
Click here for parts one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen and fifteen. This is part sixteen.
Click on the name for the source of the quote.
86. Admiral Mike Mullen, chief of Naval Operations under G W Bush and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
“I have to date been reticent to speak out on issues surrounding President Trump's leadership, but we are at an inflection point, and the events of the past few weeks have made it impossible to remain silent. Whatever Trump's goal in conducting his visit [to St. John's Church in Lafayette Square], he laid bare his disdain for the rights of peaceful protest in this country, gave succor to the leaders of other countries who take comfort in our domestic strife, and risked further politicizing the men and women of our armed forces.” [2 June, 2020]
87. General Martin Dempsey, commander of U.S. Central Command under G W Bush:
“The president is given a lot of authority by our Constitution and the laws that interpret it. And I thought, given the state of the unrest, and the risk that we would put the active duty military in a position where its relationship with the American people would be adversely affected, that I should say something."
88. Admiral Joseph Maguire, Trump’s director of National Intelligence 2019 to 2020:
“Jim Mattis, Mike Mullen and Marty Dempsey are all good friends, and I respect them tremendously. I am in alignment with their views.” [7 June, 2020]
89. Tom Campbell, Republican congressman for five terms, California state senator for two:
“The transcript of the phone call with President Zelensky, the testimony of Ambassadors Kurt Volker and Gordon Sondland, and Mulvaney’s own press conference, are enough to make it more likely than not that President Trump did order the hold-up of aid to get Ukraine to announce an investigation of the Bidens.” [15 December, 2019]
90. Robert B. Zoellick, Deputy Secretary at the US State Department under G W Bush:
“The challenges of US-China relations fit poorly with bombast and tariff barrages. Toughness alone fails as policy if unconnected to objectives. As time passes, the United States loses friends and trust around the world. China maneuvers tactically with America and watches, probably with wry satisfaction, as the United States dissipates the international strengths built up over many decades ... We should not abandon our stake for shaky, short-term trade announcements.” [11 December, 2019]
91. Christopher Gibbs, former Republican Party chairman in Ohio:
“This president’s trade policies, too, are at the heart of the economic devastation in rural Ohio. Even during this historic economic crisis, he continues to pursue a war on trade that is bankrupting farmers, driving up farm debt and farmer suicides, and destroying the livelihoods of rural Americans.” [6 August, 2020]
92. Robert, US Navy veteran and lifelong Republican in Florida:
“Joe Biden is a decent person. And he has his work cut out for him. While he takes the next two years to clean up this huge pile of faeces left by Donald Trump, we as Republicans need to reset our party back to its basic values. The United States needs a strong Republican Party to show up.” [July 2020]
And from the archives:
93. George Pataki, former Republican Governor of New York:
“I’m horrified by news. @realDonaldTrump campaign is a poisonous mix of bigotry & ignorance. Enough! He needs to step down.” [8 October, 2016]
To be continued ...
Readers’ tips in the comments are invited.
