Former GOP lawmakers on endorsing Biden: Trump is no Republican, ‘lacks basic self-control’

Two former Republican lawmakers wrote an op-ed on Friday explaining why they are supporting Democrat Joe Biden instead of President Trump in November, arguing Trump is “an ill-formed man who lacks basic self-control and shows no semblance of inner character.”

Former Reps. Charles Djou (R-Hawaii) and Mickey Edwards (R-Okla.) in an opinion piece for Roll Call condemned Trump’s “childish name-calling, crude behavior and immature narcissism.”

“Civility is a trait of inner character and self-confidence. That is why we are so disturbed by Trump’s name-calling and childish taunting, his penchant for conspiracy theories and his embrace of conspiracy websites, all of which reflect a disturbing paranoia,” they wrote.

“Donald Trump may pretend to be heir to the great Republican tradition that appealed to us both but he is no Republican. He is simply an ill-formed man who lacks basic self-control and shows no semblance of inner character,” the lawmakers added.

In the piece, they noted that Edwards is a founding trustee of the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank and a former chairman of the American Conservative Union, while Djou is an Afghanistan War veteran who graduated from Trump’s alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance. 

However, the former GOP lawmakers criticized Trump’s reported disparaging remarks calling fallen military heroes “suckers” and “losers” as well as his relatively warm relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

They also cited Trump’s “anti-immigration devotion to isolationism” for losing their support in his reelection.

“He recklessly declares that immigrants are ‘animals’ and ‘rapists.’ His anti-immigrant approach bears a much closer relationship to the autocrats in Turkey or Russia or China than the American Statue of Liberty,” the former lawmakers wrote.

Djou and Edwards were among the almost 100 former Republican lawmakers and officials who endorsed Biden earlier this month as part of a new group called Republicans & Independents for Biden. 

The organization, led by former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman (R), said its “sole mission is to defeat Donald Trump and elect Joe Biden the next President of the United States.”

Djou and Edwards said the Democratic presidential candidate is “not a perfect man, but he is a man of humble decency.”

“America needs a restored sense of national unity, basic civility and true character in our president,” they concluded. “After four years of reckless Trumpian chaos and division, we believe it is time for a new president and ask that you join us.”