Kelly’s harsh warnings

Ex-Trump aides emerge to back Kelly’s harsh warnings

The letter from former White House officials comes as Harris is leaning into her closing argument that Trump is a threat to democracy.

By Meridith McGraw

More than a dozen former Trump administration officials on Friday came out in support of former chief of staff John Kelly, who went on the record this week to say the former president fits the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator and has no concept of the Constitution.

In a new letter, shared exclusively with POLITICO, the former Trump administration officials — some of the officials have been outspoken Trump critics for years — stated, “this is who Donald Trump is.”

“The revelations General Kelly brought forward are disturbing and shocking. But because we know Trump and have worked for and alongside him, we were sadly not surprised by what General Kelly had to say,” the letter states.

“We applaud General Kelly for highlighting in stark details the danger of a second Trump term. Like General Kelly, we did not take the decision to come forward lightly. We are all lifelong Republicans who served our country. However, there are moments in history where it becomes necessary to put country over party. This is one of those moments” the letter states. “Everyone should heed General Kelly’s warning.”

The letter was signed by Trump administration officials, including Kevin Carroll, former senior counselor to Kelly; former deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews; former assistant secretary of homeland security Elizabeth Neumann; former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci; former chief of staff at the Dept. of Homeland Security Miles Taylor; former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham; former press secretary to the vice president Alyssa Farah Griffin; and former national security adviser to vice president Pence, Olivia Troye.

Taylor was the author of “Anonymous,” a book warning about Trump, and Troye and former press secretary Stephanie Grisham spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

The letter comes as Harris is leaning into her closing argument that Trump is a threat to democracy and poses a distinct threat if he’s reelected. It’s a message she and her campaign believes resonates with independents and Trump-weary Republicans who are concerned about the former president returning to the Oval Office.

On Wednesday night, Harris’ campaign conducted a focus group with undecided voters in a battleground state, where the participants found Kelly to be credible and trustworthy and his criticism of Trump, according to a campaign official, granted anonymity to discuss the findings, made some of them think twice about the former president.

According to a campaign official, the Harris campaign learned that persuadable and undecided voters in recent battleground state polling, their target group, said that the former president’s pursuit of “unchecked power with no one to stop him” is one of their top concerns. They also found that one of the concerning messages for them on this point is that “those who worked closest with Trump while he was President have left and said he should not be President again because of the risk he poses to national security.”

A Wall Street Journal poll released on Wednesday showed that while Trump has the lead on the issues of immigration and the economy, more voters viewed Trump than Harris as “too extreme,” 49 to 39 percent, or a danger to the country, 48 to 43 percent.

The release of the letter also comes as several more Republicans defect from their party and publicly support Harris, including former Michigan Rep. Fred Upton and the GOP mayor of Waukesha, Wisconsin, a city in the largest Republican county in the state.

In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump slammed Kelly, a former four star general, as a “lowlife” and “total degenerate” who “made up a story out of pure Trump Derangement Syndrome Hatred.”

“This guy had two qualities, which don’t work well together. He was tough and dumb. The problem is his toughness morphed into weakness, because he became JELLO with time! The story about the Soldiers was A LIE, as are numerous other stories he told,” Trump posted.

Trump’s reference to the story about soldiers is likely about Kelly’s 2023 statement to CNN when he claimed the former president disparaged soldiers in private.

Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement, “John Kelly has totally beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated because he failed to serve his President well while working as Chief of Staff and currently suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

“President Trump has always honored the service and sacrifice of all of our military men and women, whereas Kamala Harris has completely disrespected the families of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, including the Abbey Gate 13,” Cheung said.

The new revelations by Kelly — and data showing concerns about a Trump second term could be effective with independent voters — are propelling a blitz of final week ads and events by the Harris campaign.

During a town hall with CNN on Wednesday night, Harris said the on the record interviews by Kelly were like a “911 call to the American people: Understand what could happen if Donald Trump were back in the White House.”

“I think one has to think about why would someone who served with him, who is not political, a four-star marine general, why is he telling the American people now?” Harris said. “This time, we must take very seriously those folks who knew him best and who were career people are not going to be there to hold him back.”

Her comments to CNN were turned into a new digital ad by her campaign airing in battleground states.

Last week, the Harris campaign produced a TV ad in battleground states making the argument that Trump would “ignore all checks that rein in a president’s power” and on Wednesday launched an ad in English and Spanish highlighting Trump’s response during a Latino town hall that Jan. 6 was a “day of love.”

On Monday, Harris went on tour through the Rust Belt states with former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney to argue that Trump is a threat to the Constitution, and on Wednesday the Harris campaign held a press call with Republican former national security officials.

The ads and events highlighting support from Republican officials and criticisms about Trump’s fitness for office from people who worked for him will culminate with a speech laying out the risks of a second Trump term on Tuesday at the Ellipse on the National Mall, where Trump held a rally before the violent riots on Capitol Hill.