Growing number of GOP national security leaders back Harris

A growing number of Republican national security figures are endorsing Vice President Harris in the 2024 contest, firing off a series of letters warning of the risks of re-electing former President Trump.

More than 100 different former national security officials last week gave a full-throated endorsement of Harris, penning a letter that called Trump unfit to serve.

The week before, Alberto Gonzales, who served as attorney general in the George W. Bush administration, drafted his own op-ed calling Trump “perhaps the most serious threat to the rule of law in a generation.” 

And just a few days before that, 10 former military officials called Harris “the best—and only—presidential candidate in this race who is fit to serve as our commander-in-chief.”

While cross-party endorsements aren’t unheard of, they’ve ratcheted up in the age of Trump, particularly in this election.

It’s a dynamic Harris has actively courted, even launching a Republicans for Harris effort in August.

“For every voter who cares about America and understands the fundamental threat Donald Trump poses to our democracy and our Constitution, this campaign has a home for you. Vice President Harris will be a president for all Americans – whether Republican, Democrat, independent, or none of the above – and she will keep working to earn the support of every American,” Austin Weatherford, the campaign’s director of Republican outreach said when the effort launched.

Mainstream GOP voices have cast doubt that the endorsements will make much difference in the race.

Nonetheless, at least 150 Republican officials with ties to the national security world have backed Harris.

It’s a figure that does not include nearly 200 Republicans and independents who on Sunday signed on to a bipartisan letter from more than 700 national security officials endorsing the vice president.

The letters come from those in all corners of the national security community, who say Trump cannot be trusted to lead the military, uphold the rule of law, or run point on foreign affairs.

Gonzales noted Trump’s recent conviction and ongoing court cases, saying the Supreme Court’s recent decision granting former presidents broad immunity from prosecution heightens the need to elect someone with integrity.  

The missive from the largest group of GOP officials wrote that Trump was “unfit to serve again as President.”

“Donald Trump’s susceptibility to flattery and manipulation by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, unusual affinity for other authoritarian leaders, contempt for the norms of decent, ethical and lawful behavior, and chaotic national security decision-making are dangerous qualities,” the letter states.

All noted his praise for authoritarian regimes and accused him of having a self-serving nature that would jeopardize U.S. interests.

“Traditionally, national security has been the third leg of the Republican Party. You have value voters, you have free market voters, and you had defense hawks. And of those three, Trump, I think, struggles the most with defense hawks given his positions on Ukraine and his statements about Putin,” Alex Conant, a Republican strategist and former spokesman for George W. Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), said their concerns reflect the strains Trump’s positions have put on many Republicans.

Conant and others, however, are skeptical that the string of endorsements will make much difference in the broader scheme of the campaign.

“I don't think Harris sending out a press release with a bunch of Republicans that have endorsed her moves a single voter,” Conant said. 

Matt Gorman, a Republican strategist and former advisor to the Tim Scott campaign, put it more bluntly. 

“I'm dying to meet the person in Bucks County, Pa. who was really waiting for the deputy assistant National Security Advisor for a Republican administration 40 years ago who finally, finally convinced them of who to vote for,” he quipped. 

“I’m not gonna pretend it has some kind of outsize influence because it’s just not the case.”

Those doubts notwithstanding, it’s clear the Harris campaign and their GOP endorsers believe the calls can make a difference.

The August Democratic National Convention featured multiple GOP speakers and the Harris team has spent millions targeting anti-Trump Republicans. Outside groups have similarly launched their own ad campaigns.

And many of the endorsements have been flagged by the campaign, praising new allies for putting “country over party,” while Gonzales went on CNN to discuss his rationale for backing Harris.

There are some positive polling signs for Harris. While polling between Trump and Harris remains close, she’s pulled ahead in a few key swing states.

John Conway, director of strategy for Republican Voters Against Trump, sees it as valuable both to average voters as well as other leading figures within the Republican Party.

“When Republican elites are coming out to endorse Kamala Harris, they're not only signaling to Republican voters that they should do the same thing, but they're also signaling to other Republican elites that they should come out and support Kamala Harris too,” Conway said.

“Everybody knows that there are so many Republican officials, so many former Trump administration officials, who privately disdain Donald Trump and think he's a danger to our democracy who have yet to speak up publicly. And I think when those Republican elites also see folks like Liz Cheney and the folks who have signed this letter come out publicly, it shows that they can too,” he added, calling it a “nudge.”

It’s also a sign of a broader trend in terms of GOP figures endorsing Harris.

In addition to the Cheneys, a group of 200 former staffers for John McCain, Mitt Romney, and both Bush presidents have also endorsed Harris as have former Trump officials like Olivia Troye and Stephanie Grisham.

Harris is trying to change the “permission structure,” strategists said, essentially creating a sense among Republicans that it's OK to cross party lines on this ticket. 

“I think Harris is trying to create the permission structure for rank-and-file Republicans to vote for her and having endorsements from people like Dick Cheney and former Republican senators helps. It helps accomplish that,” Conant told The Hill.

“I do think it's evidence that there are a significant number of Republicans who aren't going to vote for Trump this fall,” Conant said.