Trump
Prominent Republicans rebuke Trump in droves
As more Republicans are mortified by Donald Trump every day, they rebuke their presidential nominee en masse. Here's a list of 109 prominent Republicans who denounce Trump. While in past elections there may have been a solitary defector, this time myriad Republicans and other conservatives are turning their backs to their own candidate.
Susan Collins
US senator, Maine
I will not be voting for Donald Trump for president. … Regrettably, his essential character appears to be fixed, and he seems incapable of change or growth.
Ted Cruz
US senator, Texas
I am not in the habit of supporting people who attack my wife and attack my father. … Don't stay home in November. Stand and speak and vote your conscience.
Mark Kirk
US senator, Illinois
Given my military experience, Donald Trump does not have the temperament to command our military or our nuclear arsenal.
Lindsey Graham
US senator, South Carolina
I also cannot in good conscience support Donald Trump because I do not believe he is a reliable Republican conservative.
Dean Heller
US senator, Nevada
He did a lot of damage. It’s very difficult for him, as far as I’m concerned, to recover from his previous comments. I’ll give him a chance, but at this point, I have no intentions of voting for him.
Ben Sasse
US senator, Nebraska
I can’t support someone that I don’t think would take the oath of office in good faith.
Carlos Curbelo
US representative, Florida
I think both Donald Trump and Mrs. Clinton are flawed candidates, if you look at the polls the majority of Americans have negative views on both of them. So I am going to wait and see what happens on our side, but I have already said I will not support Mr. Trump. That is not a political decision, that is a moral decision.
Charlie Dent
US representative, Pennslyvania
It's too much. It's a bridge too far.
Bob Dold
US representative, Illinois
For me, I will not support Donald Trump. … Whether it be Mr. Trump’s comments about women, his comments about Muslims, his comments about Latinos, for me it was very personal, his comments about POWs. … for me these comments altogether are not about uniting a country. It’s quite the opposite.
Richard Hanna
US representative, New York
For me, it is not enough to simply denounce his comments: He is unfit to serve our party and cannot lead this country.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
US representative, Florida
In this election, I do not support either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.
Adam Kinzinger
US representative, Illinois
Donald Trump is beginning to cross a lot of red lines of the unforgivable in politics. I'm not going to support Hillary, but in America we have the right to skip somebody. That's what it's looking like for me today. I don't see how I get to Donald Trump anymore.
Reid Ribble
US representative, Wisconsin
… people have asked me, "What is it that Trump could do to convince you to vote for him?" and I've said he can't. … I'm not going to compromise a principle for a party. I'm just not going to do it.
Scott Rigell
US representative, Virginia
I’ve always said I will not vote for Donald Trump and I will not vote for Hillary Clinton. I’m going to vote for the Libertarian candidate.
Charlie Baker
Massachusetts governor
The things he said about women and Muslims and religious freedom, I just can’t support.
Larry Hogan
Maryland governor
I guess when I get behind the curtain I’ll have to figure it out. Maybe write someone in. I’m not sure.
Jeb Bush
former Florida governor and 2016 Republican presidential candidate
In November, I will not vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, but I will support principled conservatives at the state and federal levels, just as I have done my entire life.
Mitt Romney
former Massachusetts governor and 2012 Republican presidential nominee
And let me put it very plainly. If we Republicans choose Donald Trump as our nominee, the prospects for a safe and prosperous future are greatly diminished.
Maria Comella
longtime aide to former Republican presidential candidate and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
Donald Trump has been a demagogue this whole time, preying on people's anxieties with loose information and salacious rhetoric, drumming up fear and hatred of the "other."
Tim Miller
former Jeb Bush communications adviser and current communications adviser for the anti-Donald Trump Super PAC Our Principles PAC
I don't know that there’s going to be a lot of support for … a Republicans-for-Hillary thing, which I couldn’t be a part of. So, if there’s a third party [candidate] that people could point towards even if it was a protest vote — yeah, I could see that.
Marc Racicot
former chair of the Republican National Committee and former Montana governor
I can’t believe I’m endorsing Hillary Clinton for president, but I am. This morning, I woke up and told my wife, "Did I really do that?" But I did.
Meg Whitman
Hewlett Packard CEO and former Republican contender for governor of California
To vote Republican out of party loyalty alone would be to endorse a candidacy that I believe has exploited anger, grievance, xenophobia and racial division. Donald Trump’s demagoguery has undermined the fabric of our national character. … Therefore, I have decided to support Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Ross Douthat
conservative author, blogger, and New York Times columnist
There are many lessons that conservatives need to learn from the rise of Donald Trump. … But for conservatives to support Trump himself, to assist in his election as president of the United States, would be a terrible mistake.
Erick Erickson
conservative radio commentator, Atlanta's Evening News With Erick Erickson
I have become convinced that Donald Trump’s pro-life conversion is a conversion of convenience. Life is the foremost cause in how I vote. Therefore I will not be voting for Donald Trump at all. Ever.
Glenn Beck
conservative radio talk show host
We're talking lesser of two evils in this category i believe we're dealing with darkness so I can't put my name there and my only solace is this is out of our hands.
Bill Kristol
founder and editor of the political magazine the Weekly Standard
I've made my "never Trump" argument to other Republicans. The strongest counter-argument is, oh, you're electing Hillary. I don't think it's correct. I think the nomination of Donald Trump is what is most likely going to elect Hillary.
Norm Coleman
former US senator, Minnesota
I also won't vote for Donald Trump because of who he is. A bigot. A misogynist. A fraud. A bully.
Gordon Humphrey
former US senator, New Hampshire
I am ever more confirmed in my belief that Trump is a sociopath, without a conscience or feelings of guilt, shame or remorse. And he is pathologically insecure, recklessly attacking anyone who does not confirm him as the best there is. … I would only vote for Hillary in the event of a very close contest.
Larry Pressler
former US senator, South Dakota
I can’t believe I’m endorsing Hillary Clinton for president, but I am.
Mel Martinez
former US senator, Florida, and RNC chairman
I would not vote for Trump, clearly. If there is any, any, any other choice, a living, breathing person with a pulse, I would be there.
David Durenberger
former US senator
… send a strong signal to Republican and Independent voters that respected leaders are putting country over political party in this election.
Chris Shays
former US representative, Connecticut
During the 34 years I served as a Republican elected official in Connecticut … I always voted for our Republican candidate for governor and our Republican candidate for president. Always, but not this time.
Vin Weber
former US representative, Minnesota
I won't vote for Trump. I can't imagine I'd remain a Republican if he becomes president.
Bob Inglis
former US representative, South Carolina
It's impossible for me to vote for Donald Trump, of course, because he's just antithetical to everything that I believe as a conservative.
Connie Morella
former US representative, Maryland
Hillary Clinton has the knowledge, the experience, and the commitment to lead our country as president and commander in chief. Unlike her opponent, she will not divide, bully, or dismiss us.
Tom Campbell
former US representative, California
Donald Trump's recent hinting at violence against Hillary Clinton stands apart in an already abysmally low political season. It is sufficient to call on the Republican National Committee to reconsider the formal action of that convention in nominating him.
Mickey Edwards
former US representative, Oklahoma and founding trustee of the Heritage Foundation
I don’t think comparing him to the rise of a Mussolini is unfair. I think there is this bias, this bigotry, this roughing up people who come to his rallies.
Tom Coleman
former US representative, Missouri
We believe that Donald Trump’s divisiveness, recklessness, incompetence, and record-breaking unpopularity risk turning this election into a Democratic landslide," states a letter signed by Coleman and 70 Republicans.
Arne Carlson
former Governor, Minnesota
Hillary Clinton? Oh my God. No human being in history has been more vetted.
William Milliken
former Governor, Michigan
This nation has long prided itself on its abiding commitments to tolerance, civility and equality. … I am saddened and dismayed that the Republican Party this year has nominated a candidate who has repeatedly demonstrated that he does not embrace those ideals.
Christine Todd Whitman
former Governor, New Jersey
While I certainly don't want four more years of another Clinton administration or more years of the Obama administration, I would take that over the kind of damage I think Donald Trump could do to this country, to its reputation, to the people of this country.
Richard Armitage
former deputy secretary of state under George W. Bush
If Donald Trump is the nominee, I would vote for Hillary Clinton. He doesn't appear to be a Republican, he doesn't appear to want to learn about issues. So, I’m going to vote for Mrs. Clinton.
John Negroponte
former diplomat and top security official under three Republican administrations
Having myself served in numerous diplomatic and national security positions starting in 1960, I am convinced that Secretary Clinton has the leadership qualities that far and away qualify her best to be our next President.
Brent Scowcroft
national security adviser under Republican Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush
I believe Hillary Clinton has the wisdom and experience to lead our country at this critical time.
Paul Wolfowitz
former deputy secretary of defense under President George W. Bush
It's complicated. Trump says that it is precisely we and our policies that are responsible for the mess in Iraq. But I certainly think it's important to speak up and say how unacceptable he is. I'm always more than willing to do that.
Sally Bradshaw
former senior adviser to Jeb Bush
As much as I don't want another four years of [President Barack] Obama's policies, I can't look my children in the eye and tell them I voted for Donald Trump.
Frank Lavin
former political director for President Ronald Reagan
… I will do something that I have not done in 40 years of voting: I will vote for the Democratic nominee for president. The depressing truth of the Republican nominee is that Donald Trump talks a great game but he is the emperor who wears no clothes.
Rudy Fernandez
former special assistant to George W. Bush
Trump fails by any measure that you should use to judge a presidential candidate. Whether it’s political experience, character, vision for the country. He fails. I have many differences with Hillary Clinton positions, but I fear a Trump presidency more than I fear a Clinton presidency.
Hank Paulson
former Treasury secretary under George W. Bush and former CEO of Goldman Sachs
The GOP, in putting Trump at the top of the ticket, is endorsing a brand of populism rooted in ignorance, prejudice, fear and isolationism. … Enough is enough. It’s time to put country before party and say it together: Never Trump. … I’ll be voting for Hillary Clinton, with the hope that she can bring Americans together to do the things necessary to strengthen our economy, our environment and our place in the world.
Rosario Marin
former US Treasurer under George W. Bush
… I will stand up for my community against the menace of a tyrannical presidency that does not value the countless contributions of immigrants across its beautiful and bountiful history. I have disagreed with and criticized Hillary Clinton’s positions, but I have come to the conclusion that she would be a far better president than the Republican candidate could ever be.
Carlos Gutierrez
former commerce secretary under George W. Bush and CEO of Kellogg
I'm not thinking about (it as) a Republican, I'm thinking about (it as) a US citizen. I think at some point, you have to put the party aside and say what's best for the country? I don't want to live in a society that I think Donald Trump will create.
Mark Salter
former adviser to Sen. John McCain
Whatever Hillary Clinton’s faults, she’s not ignorant or hateful or a nut. She acts like an adult, and understands the responsibilities of an American president. That might not be a ringing endorsement. But in 2016, the year of Trump’s campaign, it’s more than enough.
Lezlee Westine
former aide to President George W. Bush
Our nation faces a unique set of challenges that require steady and experienced leadership. That is why today I am personally supporting Hillary Clinton. She has the expertise and commitment to American values to grow the economy, create jobs and protect America at home and abroad.
Peter Wehner
former official in the last three Republican administrations
If Mr. Trump heads the Republican Party, it will no longer be a conservative party; it will be an angry, bigoted, populist one. Mr. Trump would represent a dramatic break with and a fundamental assault on the party’s best traditions.
Ken Mehlman
former White House political director and RNC chairman
Leaders don't need to do research to reject Klan support. #NeverTrump
William K. Reilly
former EPA administrator under President George H.W. Bush
Donald Trump has shown a profound ignorance of science and of the public health issues embodied in our environmental laws.
William D. Ruckelshaus
former EPA administrator under President Ronald Reagan
We Republicans should be shocked, outraged even, at the prospect that all this progress, this legacy will be repudiated and rolled back by Donald Trump.
Fred T. Goldberg Jr
former IRS commissioner under President George Bush
… send a strong signal to Republican and Independent voters that respected leaders are putting country over political party in this election.
Robert Tuttle
served in Reagan’s administration and US ambassador to the United Kingdom under George W. Bush
He has made repeated misstatements and inaccurate statements. He has insulted minorities, women, a war hero and Gold Star parents. He is unqualified and unfit to be president. I have never voted for a Democrat but I will vote for Secretary Clinton.
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50 former national security officials
(Source: Vox analysis)