A group of alumni who worked in the Reagan administration have surprisingly revealed that they are backing Kamala Harris for president instead of Donald Trump and even said they believe their late boss would also support the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee.
The announcement by the group of more than a dozen Reagan officials and staff members is the latest in a series of endorsements by current and former Republican officials for the vice president.
In its letter of support, the group noted that President Reagan famously spoke of a “moment to choose.”
“While he is not here to experience the current moment, those of us who worked for him in the White House, in the Administration, on campaigns, and on his personal team know that he would join us in supporting the Harris-Walz ticket,” they wrote.
Reagan alumni stated that “the moment of choice we face today is a choice between integrity and demagoguery, and the choice must be Harris-Walz.”
A group of Republicans who worked for President Ronald Reagan endorse Democrat Kamala Harris for president against Donald Trump
His letter argued that the choice was between “truth and lies,” “freedom and the suppression of freedom,” and “serving the people and serving the few.”
Some of the Reagan officials who came out in support of the Democratic presidential nominee include Ken Adelman, who served as Reagan’s ambassador to the United States, deputy assistant to the president for communications Elizabeth Board, White House social secretary Gahl Burt, deputy assistant to the president B. Jay Cooper, and others.
The list of former Reagan officials also includes Pete Souza, who served as official White House photographer for both Reagan and President Obama. Souza has long been an outspoken critic of Trump.
“Our votes in this election have less to do with supporting the Democratic Party and more to do with our resounding support for democracy,” they said.
They wrote that they hope their letter “sends a signal to other Republicans and former Republicans that supporting the Democratic ticket this year is the only path to a strong and viable America for our children and grandchildren in the years to come.”
A group of more than a dozen people who worked in the Reagan administration released a letter endorsing Kamala Harris. They said they believe the late President Ronald Reagan would have also endorsed the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee.
A Pew Research poll last year found that Republicans regard Reagan as the best recent president, narrowly edging out Trump.
But earlier this year, Reagan’s own daughter, Patti Davis, said she doubts her father would want to be associated with today’s Republican Party.
The Reagan alumnus’ endorsement comes after a number of other former Republican administration officials and prominent GOP lawmakers spoke out against the former president’s bid for a second term in office.
Most notably, former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney recently revealed that he would vote for Harris.
The former vice president who served under President George W. Bush wrote that “there has never been an individual who poses a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump.”
Days earlier, his daughter, former Wyoming congresswoman and longtime Trump critic Liz Cheney, also endorsed the vice president.
Former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney and her father, former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, announced they will vote for Kamala Harris in the November election.
“I don’t think we have the luxury of writing down the names of the candidates, particularly in the key states,” Cheney said.
Separately, more than 230 Republicans who worked for prominent Republicans including President George W. Bush, the late Sen. John McCain and Sen. Mitt Romney also endorsed Harris last month.
Harris’ campaign and Democrats have been actively courting Republicans as they work to narrow Trump’s margins.
During their convention, a number of prominent Republicans and even former Trump White House officials took the stage to share why they would vote for the Democratic candidate.
The campaign also launched Republicans for Harris and has been reaching out to former Nikki Haley voters since the Republican primary season as part of its work to build a coalition for November.