Ex-Montana GOP governor says Trump ‘dangerous’ to republic

Former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot (R) delivered a biting assessment of President Trump’s tenure in the White House after Trump refused to explicitly condemn white supremacy during Tuesday’s debate, saying his continued leadership is “dangerous to the existence of the republic.”

“I’ve concluded that he’s dangerous to the existence of the republic as we know it,” Racicot told The New York Times.

Racicot, who served as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) during the George W. Bush administration, threw his support behind Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden this week. 

In an interview with Yellowstone Public Radio, Racicot acknowledged that his refusal to vote for Trump “will cause consternation perhaps in some corners” of the Republican Party. 

But in his comments to the Times, Racicot said that Trump’s performance in the first presidential debate this week “embarrassed” him. He also said that the president had offered reassurances to racists, making reference to Trump’s refusal at the debate to condemn the Proud Boys, a far-right group linked to white supremacy. 

Trump has sought to stem the fallout from his remarks at the debate, telling reporters on Wednesday that he doesn’t “know who the Proud Boys are.”

“I mean, you’ll have to give me a definition because I really don’t know who they are,” he said. “I can only say they have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work.”

Racicot is not the only former Republican governor to back Biden. Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) endorsed Biden in August and spoke in support of him at the Democratic National Convention. 

Another former RNC chairman, Michael Steele, has also said he will vote for Biden in the November election.